Race win better end to tough day for McIntyre at Manfeild NZV8sWinning the reverse grid race helped two-time NZV8 champion John McIntyre finish the Manfeild round of the NZV8 series on a positive note. “That was our fifth win of the season – virtually a start-to-finish win – so that’s something positive out of what was a very difficult day for John McIntyre Racing,” said the Nelson-based driver who moves from third place into fourth on the championship points-table after being unable to finish one race due to a mechanical failure. Having qualified third fastest in Saturday’s top ten shootout, McIntyre looked set for a positive day of racing in the #47 Amcor Falcon on Sunday when BNT V8s Championship competitors contested three races in very hot conditions at the popular Feilding race circuit. “In that first race, there was some unpleasant stuff going on with what I thought was the differential from about the third lap, and I was doing my best to coax the car around to complete eight of the 12 laps, which would have meant I completed 75% of the race and would therefore be qualified as a finisher to earn points,” said McIntyre. “Sadly that wasn’t to be. The whole diff housing came away from the car. We’ve never seen anything like it – broken mounts and an enormous amount of damage under the car. So we just had to wait for the tow truck and then the team went to work and, boy, did we work hard! It was literally down to the wire to have the car repaired and put back together for race two at 12:45 pm. With just a few seconds to spare, we made it out onto the dummy grid, and things still weren’t 100% right so I took it pretty easy, starting from the back and soldiering on. I managed to ease up through the field to tenth, which was again something positive.” Starting the reverse grid third race from the front row of the field, McIntyre said he had to nail that race win. “The guys were still working on the car between races and then we simply had to win the final race, which we did and with a respectable margin of 9.6 seconds over second-placed Paul Manuell. “So it wasn’t the weekend of racing we hoped for, but we never give up and will be 100% focussed for Taupo in a month’s time.” The sixth and penultimate round of the BNT V8s Championship takes place at the Taupo Motorsport Park over the weekend of 12 to 13 March before the season finale on the streets of Hamilton as the major support category for the Australian V8 Supercars at the ITM 400 in April. Grid position three for fired-up McIntyre at Manfeild NZV8sJohn McIntyre, a two-time NZV8 champion, has secured third position on the starting grid for the first of three races for the fifth round of the BNT V8s Championship at Manfeild. McIntyre aims for Manfeild magic in NZV8sTwo-time NZV8 champion John McIntyre is well-prepared and focused on a top performance at the next round of the BNT V8s Championship at Manfeild over the weekend of 12 and 13 February. McIntyre has a special affinity for the Manawatu motor racing circuit – the Hawke’s Bay-born driver first drove a race car on the 3.03km track when just 12 years of age. Now living in Nelson, McIntyre has won countless races at Manfeild including securing a notable achievement in NZV8 history when the 33-year-old became the first NZV8 competitor to ever win all three races in one round at Manfeild in 2009.
Currently placed third on the NZV8’s championship points-table, McIntyre is gunning for another trademark strong performance in this fifth round of the 2010-11 series. “With this and two more rounds to run, the chase for the championship title is far from over,” says McIntyre who won the NZV8 series in 2007 and 2008. “Anything can happen at Manfeild – there are so many opportunities to pass on this circuit, which I really enjoy, so fans can expect exciting race action. “This season we’ve seen that you have to be right on your game in all three races. Other top competitors around me on the points-table – Angus Fogg, Craig Baird and Kayne Scott – are all highly capable drivers. With fewer cars in the field overall this season, not only is it important to qualify well and finish well in the first two races, it’s particularly important to carry that momentum through into the third, reverse grid race. You have to get through the field and into the top five in that race also.” McIntyre is confident about the #47 Amcor Falcon’s preparation. “From the third race at Manfeild last season, we developed a good setup for the car, so we’re confident the car will be strong. With chances to pass at virtually every corner, I’ll be making the most of every opportunity all weekend.” John McIntyre Racing will have the #47 Ford on track for two practice sessions on Saturday 12 February; these are scheduled for 10:55am and 2:10pm. The two-part qualifying session starts at 4:20pm. On Sunday 13 February, the team starts with a 12-lap race at 10:35am, before contesting a second 12-lap race at 12:45pm and the third, reverse grid race of 22 laps at 4:15pm. All three races can be viewed this Sunday on TV3 from 2pm-6pm.
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“There’s no doubt that our team, John McIntyre Racing, likes coming to Manfeild. From a purely sporting perspective, we’ve had some of our greatest successes here,” says McIntyre.
