[ Summary | First Qualifying | Second Qualifying | Race 1 | Race 2 ]
Saturday & Sunday 13/14th June 1998
Neither the wet weather conditions nor his lack of time at the Taupo Track did anything to stop Jason Richards from topping the qualifying times for the second meeting of the NZRDC Series. The BNT International Motorsport BMW had been favoured as the car to beat, the BMW suited to a track requiring balance rather than raw power. The predictions appeared to be coming true as Richards pulled out a handy lead on the rest of the field in the first race to score an excellent win. With championship points leader Ed Lamont out of the country, Richards forged ahead to take a substantial points lead in the championship.
However David (Bart) Simpson emerged as the BMW slayer of the meeting, proving the competativeness of the Nissan Bluebird on the rain sweeped track to win a thrilling second race. Although Richards made another of his great starts, he ran wide at the hairpin to allow Simpson through. The BMW continually pressured Simpson throughout the race, momentarily taking the lead on several occasions. In a display of superb driving skill, Bart never lost his cool to score his best finish since his race against the BMWs in the rain at Manfield two years ago. Simpson was delighted with the result, leapfrogging him from the bottom of the points table into sixth equal place.
Taupo allowed the smaller horsepower cars to put in much more competative times. A highlight was Grant Aitken's third and fourth in qualifying. Glen Collins had put in excellent qualifying times to head off Paul Pavlettich (the 1600 cc class leader). His meeting went from very good to very bad as he lost control of his car in the heavy rain of the first race to roll into the ditch on the main straight. Fortunately he sustainned no major injuries, but it was the end of his weekend, forcing a restart of the race. Ross Heffernan had a consistent weekend, recording two third placings. Geoff Short in the Husquvana Ford Telstar should be pleased with his weekend, outscoring team mate and main rival Barrie Thomlinson to move into second equal on the points table with Ross Heffernan.
Controversy arose over the points standings in the 1600cc class with Paul Pavletich contending, contrary to the results sheet, that he finished the second race ahead of Les Brown in the Nissan Primera and Bill Cooney in the Toyota Sprinter. Irrespective of this he still heads the 1600cc class.
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
Gap |
2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 47.00 | 0:00.00 |
33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 47.84 | 0:00.84 |
10 | Grant AITKEN | Suzuki Baleno | 48.39 | 0:01.39 |
6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 49.60 | 0:02.60 |
5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 49.93 | 0:02.93 |
11 | Bill TUNZELMANN | Peugeot 405 | 51.30 | 0:04.30 |
38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 51.47 | 0:04.47 |
23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 51.63 | 0:04.63 |
12 | Barrie THOMLINSON | Ford Telstar | 51.64 | 0:04.64 |
42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugeot 106 | 52.23 | 0:05.23 |
81 | Bill COONEY | Toyota Sprinter | 52.90 | 0:05.90 |
14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 53.66 | 0:06.66 |
34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 54.43 | 0:07.43 |
17 | Les BROWN | Nissan Primera | 54.48 | 0:07.48 |
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
Gap |
2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 45.36 | 0:00.00 |
33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 46.41 | 0:01.05 |
6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 46.68 | 0:01.32 |
10 | Grant AITKEN | Suzuki Baleno | 47.07 | 0:01.71 |
12 | Barrie THOMLINSON | Ford Telstar | 47.23 | 0:01.87 |
5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 48.28 | 0:02.92 |
17 | Les BROWN | Nissan Primera | 50.03 | 0:04.67 |
38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 50.37 | 0:05.01 |
23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 50.53 | 0:05.17 |
42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugeot 106 | 50.59 | 0:05.23 |
11 | Bill TUNZELMANN | Peugeot 405 | 51.73 | 0:06.37 |
81 | Bill COONEY | Toyota Sprinter | 51.73 | 0:06.37 |
14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 52.18 | 0:06.82 |
34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 52.36 | 0:07.00 |
The weather for Sunday's races dawned mild but very wet, with the occasional heavy shower of rain peppered with periods of dizzle. The conditions meant drivers were torn between caution and pace, resulting in some very entertaining driving and a serious off!
The skies darkened just prior to the beginning of the first race and competitors were forced to turn on their windscreen wipers as heavy rain washed across the track. Jason Richards in the BNT BMW 320i sat on pole and true to form made a driving start off the line to head the pack into the first left hander. David (Bart) Simpson found his front wheel drive Nissan Bluebird was at a disadvantage coming off the line, but made a clean start to retain his second position. The biggest loser off the line was Grant Aitken in his Suzuki Baleno who went from third to fifth by the end of the straight. Ross Heffernan (intitally taking a wide berth in an attempt to make room down the outside of Simpson) and Geoff Short blasted past either side of Aitken to move into third and fourth places respectively. Aitken took the inside line at the first corner, forcing Barrie Thomlinson in his Ford Telstar wide. Glen Collins also got the inside line into the corner to the detriment of 1600 cc class leader Paul Pavletich .
At the hairpin Richards ran slightly wide, allowing Simpson to take a peak up the inside, though be it at a distance. Heffernan found himself under pressure from Short and Aitken from Thomlinson respectively, the two Ford Telstar drivers keen to make some progress. Bill Tunzelmann had settled onto the back of the leading bunch.
The wet conditions helped make the gap in performance between the 2.0 litre and 1600cc classes much less noticable. This in combination with a circuit which made passing difficult resulted in close racing. Glen Collins was the clear winner from the 1600 cc clash at the first corner, well ahead of Pavletich, who was finding himself in all kinds of trouble with a charging Bill Cooney.
By the end of the first lap Richards had pulled out a handy lead on Simpson, with Heffernan in third and Short fourth. Grant Aitken in the 1800 cc Suzuki was doing a fantastic job to be well ahead of Bill Tunzelmann and Barrie Thomlinson in their larger 2.0 litre cars. Collins, Pavletich and Cooney rounded out the top ten places. The rain had not abated and the rain drenched track had developed a number of deep puddles through the Esses leading onto the Grandstand straight. Even the incredibly well balanced BMW of Richards was dancing through the wet as Glen Collins's day came to a premature and abrupt end. The front wheel drive Nissan Sentra lost traction through the Esses, careering off the track on the Grandstand straight and rolled into the drainage ditch. The race was stopped while the emergency services retrieved the car which had sustained surprisingly little external damage. Remarkably Glen Collins, though "shaken and stirred" was not seriously hurt and was able to exit the track without assistance.
The incident resulted in a delay of 20 minutes to the restart of the race. the car, as he the
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 47.07 |
33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 48.10 |
6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 48.34 |
5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 48.50 |
12 | Barrie THOMLINSON | Ford Telstar | 48.16 |
10 | Grant AITKEN | Suzuki Baleno | 48.32 |
11 | Bill TUNZELMANN | Peugeot 405 | 49.59 |
18 | Robbie KER | Toyota Corona | 50.86 |
23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 51.91 |
34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 52.88 |
14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 53.12 |
81 | Bill COONEY | Toyota Sprinter | 53.23 |
42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugeot 106 | 53.38 |
*17 | Les BROWN | Nissan Primera | 56.70 |
*38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 00.00 |
*Denotes DNF |
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 45.46 |
2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 45.04 |
6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 45.97 |
5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 46.20 |
10 | Grant AITKEN | Suzuki Baleno | 46.89 |
11 | Bill TUNZELMANN | Peugeot 405 | 47.47 |
18 | Robbie KER | Toyota Corona | 48.39 |
17 | Les BROWN | Nissan Primera | 49.59 |
81 | Bill COONEY | Toyota Sprinter | 49.21 |
23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 49.22 |
14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 50.97 |
42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugeot 106 | 50.54 |
34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 51.46 |
*12 | Barrie THOMLINSON | Ford Telstar | 46.48 |
*Denotes DNF |