[ Summary | First Qualifying | Second Qualifying | Race 1 | Race 2 ]
Sunday 6th September 1998
Preview
As the NZRDC Series reaches it's midpoint going into Rounds
5 & 6 at Pukekohe on 6th September , the
race
for the championship remains wide open. Although Jason Richards
in the BNT BMW 320i has a handy lead over Geoff Short and Ross
Heffernan (running second equal), all eyes will be on Ed Lamont
to see if he can repeat his comprehensive domination of the track
at the Pukekohe Raceway in May 1998.
Lamont
was absent at the Taupo Round on 13/14th June 1998, allowing his
competition to leapfrog ahead of him. There is little doubt that
Richards sees his main competition coming from the Toyota Corona's
of Lamont and Ross Heffernan. This is despite the possible appearance
of Geoff Brabham in the second BMW 320i campaigned by International
Motorsport and sponsored by Uniden.
For Brabham everything depends on a dispute between New Zealand Motorsport's governing body (MANZ) and International Motorsport over his motorsport licence being resolved. The move from Super Tourer to Schedule S 2.0 litre Tourer is not an easy one and without any test time Brabham may need a race or two to get in the groove. Failing his appearance, Barrie Thomlinson may take up the drive, his tenure of the Geoff Short Ford Telstar complete. This is an advantage for both Richards and Thomlinson as it will provide Thomlinson with an opportunity to familiarise himself with the rear wheel BMW 320i before he campaigns one with Jason Richards at the AMP Bathurst 1000 at Mt. Panorama in October 1998.
Bart Simpson, the star of the Taupo Meeting, should not be overlooked. The Nissan has a reputation for performance in the wet and the fickle spring weather could play into Bart's hands.
The weather for the first qualifying was appauling, with rain making traction and visibility poor. Geoff Brabham stepped into his BMW 320i and immediately got on the pace. His time was quick enough to grab pole from Ed Lamont, who was not able to utilise the raw power of his Toyota Corona as he had at the first meeting of the NZRDC Series. Unlike the rest of the field who were on Dunlop full wets, Jason Richards had gambled on the track drying and chose Dunlop intermediates. The weather didn't clear and he was forced to head for the pits and some intermediate tyres. Unfortunately the session was shortened by five minutes and he only recorded three laps on the intermediates, placing him on the second row of the grid with Ross Heffernan.
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
Gap |
Laps Driven |
| 83 | Geoff BRABHAM | BMW 320i | 1:15.22 | 0:00.00 | 6 |
| 8 | Ed LAMONT | Toyota Corona | 1:15.53 | 0:00.31 | 6 |
| 2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 1:17.34 | 0:02.12 | 3 |
| 6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 1:17.71 | 0:02.49 | 5 |
| 33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 1:19.14 | 0:03.92 | 5 |
| 18 | Robbie KER | Toyota Corona | 1:19.77 | 0:04.55 | 5 |
| 5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 1.24.87 | 0:09.65 | 6 |
| 29 | Shannon MILLS | Nissan Sentra | 1.27.72 | 0:12.50 | 7 |
| 23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 1:27.84 | 0:12.62 | 2 |
| 80 | Ted JARVIS | Toyota Corolla | 1:28.24 | 0:13.02 | 5 |
| 42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugot 106 | 1:29.99 | 0:14.77 | 7 |
| 76 | Glen COLLINSON | Nissan Sentra | 1:32.22 | 0:17.00 | 7 |
| 38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 1:32.41 | 0:17.19 | 7 |
| 34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 1:35.03 | 0:19.81 | 3 |
| 84 | Shayne LAWREY | Peugeot 106 | 1:35.19 | 0:19.97 | 5 |
| 14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 1:36.80 | 0:21.58 | 6 |
| 21 | Murray POOT | Honda Civic | 5:27.81 | 4:12.59 | 1 |
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
Gap |
Laps Driven |
| 2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 1:10.50 | 0:00.00 | 8 |
| 83 | Geoff BRABHAM | BMW 320i | 1:11.37 | 0:00.87 | 8 |
| 8 | Ed LAMONT | Toyota Corona | 1:12.53 | 0:02.03 | 7 |
| 33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 1:13.44 | 0:02.94 | 8 |
| 6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 1:13.58 | 0:03.08 | 8 |
| 18 | Robbie KER | Toyota Corona | 1:15.10 | 0:04.60 | 5 |
| 5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 1.16.08 | 0:05.58 | 7 |
| 23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 1:20.09 | 0:09.59 | 6 |
| 80 | Ted JARVIS | Toyota Corolla | 1.21.05 | 0:10.55 | 7 |
| 21 | Murray POOT | Honda Civic | 1:21.71 | 0:11.21 | 8 |
| 17 | Les BROWN | Nissan Primera | 1:22.36 | 0:11.86 | 7 |
| 29 | Shannon MILLS | Nissan Sentra | 1.22.65 | 0:12.15 | 7 |
| 42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugot 106 | 1:23.53 | 0:13.03 | 7 |
| 84 | Shayne LAWREY | Peugeot 106 | 1:24.30 | 0:13.80 | 7 |
| 38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 1:24.33 | 0:13.83 | 7 |
| 76 | Glen COLLINSON | Nissan Sentra | 1:26.53 | 0:16.03 | 7 |
| 14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 1:27.95 | 0:17.45 | 7 |
| 34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 1:30.38 | 0:19.88 | 2 |
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
Gap to Finish |
Laps Driven |
| 2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 1:12.68 | 0:00.00 | 10 |
| 83 | Geoff BRABHAM | BMW 320i | 1:12.81 | 0:04.21 | 10 |
| 33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 1:14.77 | 0:21.36 | 10 |
| 6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 1:15.00 | 0:25.14 | 10 |
| 8 | Ed LAMONT | Toyota Corona | 1:14.79 | 0:25.61 | 10 |
| 18 | Robbie KER | Toyota Corona | 1:15.41 | 0:42.72 | 10 |
| 5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 1.17.10 | 0:43.46 | 10 |
| 23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 1:21.62 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 80 | Ted JARVIS | Toyota Corolla | 1.23.86 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 29 | Shannon MILLS | Nissan Sentra | 1.24.89 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 1:24.53 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugot 106 | 1:26.03 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 1:27.19 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 1:28.56 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 76 | Glen COLLINSON | Nissan Sentra | 1:28.44 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 84 | Shayne LAWREY*# | Peugeot 106 | 1:29.75 | +5 lap | 5 |
| 21 | Murray POOT*# | Honda Civic | 1:29.85 | +6 lap | 4 |
| 17 | Les BROWN*# | Nissan Primera | 1:24.16 | +8 lap | 2 |
| *= Did Not Finish |
| #= Less Than 80% of Race Complete |
Fastest Lap: Jason RICHARDS 1:12.68 sec (lap 2) |
Total Elapsed Time: 12:27.11 min. |
Circuit Length: 2.8 km |
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Best Lap Time |
Gap to Finish |
Laps Driven |
| 2 | Jason RICHARDS | BMW 320i | 1:11.94 | 0:00.00 | 10 |
| 83 | Geoff BRABHAM | BMW 320i | 1:12.31 | 0:04.26 | 10 |
| 8 | Ed LAMONT | Toyota Corona | 1:13.25 | 0:15.66 | 10 |
| 6 | Ross HEFFERNAN | Toyota Corona | 1:14.00 | 0:18.99 | 10 |
| 33 | David SIMPSON | Nissan Bluebird | 1:14.09 | 0:19.13 | 10 |
| 5 | Geoff SHORT | Ford Telstar | 1.15.83 | 0:51.25 | 10 |
| 23 | Paul PAVLETICH | Nissan Sentra | 1:21.55 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 80 | Ted JARVIS | Toyota Corolla | 1.23.04 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 29 | Shannon MILLS | Nissan Sentra | 1.24.52 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 21 | Murray POOT | Honda Civic | 1:23.33 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 38 | Glen COLLINS | Nissan Sentra | 1:24.36 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 14 | Dean MILDENHALL | Nissan Sentra | 1:25.69 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 42 | Anton TALLOTT | Peugot 106 | 1:25.61 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 17 | Les BROWN | Nissan Primera | 1:26.20 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 76 | Glen COLLINSON | Nissan Sentra | 1:27.75 | +1 lap | 9 |
| 34 | Mark LORENZEN | Nissan Sentra | 1:27.39 | +1 lap | 9 |
Fastest Lap: Jason RICHARDS 1:11.94 sec (lap 3) |
Total Elapsed Time: 12:15.05 min. |
Circuit Length: 2.8 km |
