Final round win secures second in NZV8 champs for McIntyre

Another dominant performance from John McIntyre Racing in the final round of the BNT V8 Championship raced in Taupo this weekend saw the team secure second place for the season.

“I’m very, very happy,” says John McIntyre. “With a third round win for the season, our fourth pole, and two more race wins to bring our total to seven race wins from the season’s 18 races, I think it’s fair to say the team has made an outstanding recovery after a disaster in Timaru where we didn’t earn any points for an entire round.”

McIntyre congratulates Craig Baird on his championship win. “We’ve had some of the best racing we’ve ever had in this series against Craig. Congratulations to him and the United Video team on their win, and for taking out the Porsche title the same day.”

“Last year, I was extremely disappointed to get second in this series. This year, I’ve accepted second place with a lot more grace, because the whole JMR team did such a great job. We never gave up, we were competitive right up until the last chequered flag, and we earned this second place so we’re going to celebrate it!”

Qualifying for the Taupo round, the sixth and final round of the 2009-10 NZV8 championship season saw McIntyre set the quickest time in the first two qualifying sessions and head out last during the top ten shootout. He had Baird’s time of 1:35.498 to beat, and he did – by just 0.026 seconds – to take his fourth pole position in six rounds, a feat that hasn’t been achieved by any other driver in this series to the best of the team’s knowledge.

McIntyre took full advantage of starting from pole position to win the first two ten lap races and score his sixth and seventh race victories for the season. “That second race was the 27th race victory for John McIntyre Racing in four seasons,” says a proud McIntyre, who know after the second race that Baird had an insurmountable points’ lead and couldn’t be beaten for the championship title.

The championship’s last race, a 20-lapper, full reverse grid, saw McIntyre and Baird line up on the very back row together. With competitors further up the field slewing off the circuit in all directions and gravel and dust being flung up in great, view-restricting clouds, it took all of Baird’s considerable ability to make his way cleanly through the pack. McIntyre followed, keeping as close as possible behind him. On the third lap, Eddie Bell got turned by another competitor right in front of McIntyre.

“I had nowhere to go and hit Eddie’s car dead in the side. It was hard to know what was damaged so I came round to the pits pretty slowly. There was a fair bit of damage, but not enough to stop us returning to the race at full speed. The car wasn’t 100%, but we went on to get the fastest lap of the race after that and managed to drive from the back of the field again into sixth place which was an outstanding recovery and hugely satisfying.”

McIntyre’s two race wins and a sixth place earned him the round win, his third of the season.

“You look at our stats and we’ve had a great season, marred by the Timaru crash. We couldn’t win the championship – that’s how it goes, but I’m enormously proud of how the team bounced back. The whole team – headed by Craig Field from Hastings – put in a phenomenal effort.”

John McIntyre Racing heads to the streets of Hamilton in April where the NZV8s will again be a key support class for the Australian V8 Supercars contesting the ITM 400.

“This is a non-championship event for the NZV8s, but nonetheless an exciting opportunity for JMR to put on a strong performance on the challenging street circuit and acknowledge the much appreciated support of our many, many fans and sponsors including Talley's, Castrol Edge, Protector Safety, Prime Explosives, Ford NZ, The Rock FM, Ideal Electrical, Websters Hydrated Lime, Avon City Ford, BP Ultimate, Dynamic Fluid Systems, Speedshow, Cookes Wirerope, Colorfast Signs, Amcor Packaging and Squawking Magpie Wines and City Collision Repairs Napier. We look forward to seeing you there.”

BNT V8s Points after six rounds (top five)
1, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford, 1041
2, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford, 916
3, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford, 864
4, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford, 855
5, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden, 774