McIntyre takes Christchurch NZV8 round win
John McIntyre won the second round of the BNT V8s Championship at the Ruapuna circuit outside Christchurch this weekend, improving his overall championship position to second. The two-time NZV8 champion made the most of every opportunity to earn points, but faced some challenges during Sunday’s three races.
After qualifying fourth on Saturday – not as well as he wanted – the Nelson-based driver then experienced a less than ideal start for the first 12-lap race.
“We had good car pace, but I got off to a bad start, getting shuffled backwards a couple of places. But I did manage to get back past some key contenders like Angus Fogg and Andy Booth to finish third. When Kayne Scott was penalised for excessive speed at the rolling start, this promoted our Amcor Falcon to second place.”
On the front row for race two beside Craig Baird, McIntyre performed flawlessly to power away from the start line and gain a handy lead going into the first lefthander.
“That was an awesome start in race two and, from there, it was plain sailing through to our third win of this season, so the whole team’s very happy to secure maximum points.”
For the third race, with its reverse grid starting order, McIntyre started virtually at the back and worked his way through the field to cross the line fourth.
“It was a typical reverse grid race. You’ve got to keep an eye on the guys you’re racing against at the top of the points-table and make sure you’re not letting them get in front of you. Again, the Amcor Falcon showed excellent race pace and we were pleased to get through most of the field to secure a solid fourth place.”
The John McIntyre Racing team return to their home bases in Nelson and Hastings for a seven-week break until the third round of the NZV8s’ 2010/11 season at Teretonga Park outside Invercargill.
“We’re well placed in the championship and, with the Timaru round right after the Teretonga one, we are looking forward to heading south again in January to two circuits we really enjoy.”
John McIntyre Racing thanks its sponsors: Blackwoods Paykels, Protector Safety, Amcor, Talley's, Castrol Edge, BP Ultimate, NZ Ceiling and Drywall Supplies, Ideal Electrical, Websters Hydrated Lime Co, Squawking Magpie Wines, Dynamic Fluid Systems, EATON, Ford New Zealand, Irwin Tools and Showquip.
McIntyre confident of good pace at Christchurch NZV8 round
Nelson’s John McIntyre is confident he’s got the race pace to do well in all three of the NZV8 races he contests on 28 November, having qualified fourth quickest. McIntyre is among the front-runners of the 20-strong field contesting the second round of the NZV8s race series at the Ruapuna circuit outside Christchurch this weekend.
The two-time champion admits it was driver error that cost him a front row starting position, but with the Amcor Falcon demonstrating it’s got strong pace for much more than the one flying lap of the top ten qualifying shootout, McIntyre feels sure he’ll make forward progress in the championship standings.
“The whole team at John McIntyre Racing is really happy with the car – we’re very confident with our race pace,” says McIntyre who set pole position and won the first two races of the BNT V8s Championship season at Pukekohe three weeks ago.
“Of course I’m disappointed to have missed the chance of a front row starting position for Sunday, but I made two mistakes. It’s driver error, but we’re not in the worst position starting from fourth. With Angus Fogg in front of us on the front row, he’s normally pretty aggressive at the start, so we’ve got a good chance to go around the outside of Craig Baird, who’s in third, and chase down Kayne Scott who’s on pole.”
McIntyre says an interesting factor of Sunday’s racing will be the tyre wear. “The new brake package is working so well that’s it’s pretty hard on the tyres when the weather and track temperatures are so hot. It’s just another factor we’ve got to take into account.”
McIntyre lines up for three races on Sunday: 10:20am for the first 12-lapper, 1:05pm for the second, and then 3:40pm for the 20-lap reverse grid race.
John McIntyre Racing thanks its sponsors: Blackwoods Paykels, Protector Safety, Amcor, Talley's, Castrol Edge, BP Ultimate, NZ Ceiling and Drywall Supplies, Ideal Electrical, Websters Hydrated Lime Co, Squawking Magpie Wines, Dynamic Fluid Systems, EATON, Ford New Zealand, Irwin Tools and Showquip.
McIntyre, the shootout specialist, looks to Christchurch NZV8 round
Top race driver John McIntyre looks to build on the pole position and two race wins he earned at the opening round of the BNT V8s Championship as the premier touring car series heads to Christchurch’s Ruapuna circuit for round two over the weekend of 27 and 28 November.
Since the NZV8 class introduced a qualifying shootout to finalise the top ten starting positions at the beginning of the 2009-10 season, McIntyre has won five of the six* shootouts run.
“I think the shootout results speak volumes – John McIntyre Racing are the shootout specialists – and we’re set to do it again at Ruapuna on Saturday 27 November,” says McIntyre from his Nelson home.
McIntyre’s goal before Pukekohe’s opening round was to maximise his points’ haul with pole position and victory in the first two races at the first two rounds. “We did that at Pukekohe this year and last year. We did it at Ruapuna last year, so we’re all set to do it again next weekend. We’re looking for as many points as possible before the series heads to the South Island again in January for the back-to-back rounds in Invercargill and Timaru.”
However, the opening round didn’t go all McIntyre’s way with the two-time champion not as close to the series’ lead as he would have liked.
“Yeah, we crashed out of the third reverse grid race, but from every negative comes a positive. While the car was stripped down, we developed some suspension components that we wouldn’t normally have done. Now, the JMR Amcor Falcon is perfect. It’s finished today and ready to head south from our Hastings base at Lodge Auto Centre next week.”
McIntyre understands the value in winning races as a way to build a buffer against unforeseen situations like the DNF at Pukekohe.
“It’s vital to say in touch with the championship leader. We’re just 20 points away from current leader Angus Fogg with Craig Baird and Tim Edgell holding second and third between Angus and me – that’s how close it is. We didn’t finish one of the races while the other three did, so it shows going for the maximum 75 points for a win makes a difference.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing Canterbury’s motorsport fans at Ruapuna. They’ve been going through such a shaky time for so long. We hope they come along to the track to enjoy some great racing – we aim to entertain the crowd!”
John McIntyre Racing is on-track at Ruapuna Raceway, the tight, technical race circuit outside Christchurch seven times over 27 and 28 November. Saturday’s schedule has test sessions at 9:45am and 12:35pm, before the two part qualifying session starting at 3:30pm. All three races are on Sunday – 10:20am for the first 12-lapper, 1:05pm for the second, and then 3:40pm for the 20-lap reverse grid race.
John McIntyre Racing thanks its sponsors: Blackwoods Paykels, Protector Safety, Amcor, Talley's, Castrol Edge, BP Ultimate, NZ Ceiling and Drywall Supplies, Ideal Electrical, Websters Hydrated Lime Co, Squawking Magpie Wines, Dynamic Fluid Systems, EATON, Ford New Zealand, Irwin Tools and Showquip.
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