Smith takes out Tasman GP.jpg "Image") Smith did it again and dominated F5000
"Bruce was an old friend of mine, we went to the same school together and later on I owned his first car, the Austin Ulster, so it's just magic to be able to win this trophy at the Bruce McLaren tribute meeting," Smith said as a steady stream of well-wishers filed through his pit to shake his hand or pat him on the back.
Smith, 68, has now been competing at the top level of motor racing in this country for over 50 years, and was again the dominant force in the feature MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series category at the second New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing - Bruce McLaren meeting (the first was at the new Hampton Downs circuit in the north Waikato last weekend), qualifying quickest and winning all four races despite intense competition from at least five other drivers.
In the 15-lap New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing - Bruce McLaren feature race he briefly conceded the lead to fellow front row starter and 2009/10 MSC series points leader Steve Ross (McRae GM1) as the 25-strong field thundered into the first turn but was back in front before the end of the first lap and held a lead he would never lose to the chequered flag.
Early on he edged away from Ross, and maintained the gap when Ross was passed by this year's Lady Wigram Trophy Roger Williams (Lola T332) until the Safety Car was deployed to slow the field while British visitor Mike Whatley's prone car was retrieved.
As it turned out Whatley was able to re-start his Surtees TS8 and get going under his own steam, meaning the Safety Car could head back to the pits after just two laps.
When racing resumed Smith continued to lead Williams and Ross, albeit at a reduced pace as a shower of rain swept across the track. As the track dried Williams closed to within striking distance but Smith remained in front until the flag.
It was the eighth consecutive victory in the eight MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series races at the two New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing - Bruce McLaren meetings with Smith also setting the fastest race lap in seven of them, only relinquishing the one - in the second race at Hampton Downs last weekend - to that round's quickest qualifier, 2007/08 MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series champion Chris Hyde (McRae GM1).
Hyde set the second quickest lap time in qualifying at this weekend's meeting on Friday only to discover later that night that damage to his car's engine was too great to repair in time for the weekend's races.
Visiting British driver Mark Dwyer (Lola T332) who qualified third and claimed two second places behind Smith at Hampton Downs also had problems - in his case on and off the track - this weekend.
After setting the third quickest lap time in qualifying Dwyer was excluded from the results of the first race for passing under the yellow flag then was a late retirement in the second race - after running as high as second - with a broken half shaft.
The half shaft was replaced overnight but further problems with his car's crown wheel and pinion meant he had to join Hyde on the sidelines today.
That left Roger Williams and Steve Ross to fight over second place and Lola T332 drivers Ian Clements and Sefton Gibb disputing fourth.
Napier man Gibb got the better of Clements in the second race on Saturday and first on Sunday but decided discretion was the better part of valour when the rain came down in the final, allowing Clements to edge away and cross the line five seconds in front, albeit in this race 20 seconds behind David Abbott in the sister car to Ken Smith's
Christchurch driver Abbott got a storming start from the third row of the grid and drove a strong race for fourth, bettering his fifths in the first and third races and eighth in the second.
With Whatley losing a lap as he sorted out what turned out to be a simple matter of flipping the fuel switch off, first Class A car home in the final MSC feature race was the Surtees TS11 of compatriot Greg Thornton, appropriately, in 11th place.
Race 3 (Sunday morning)
With Saturday's late afternoon downpour causing flash flooding and culvert damage around the Pukekohe circuit there was a delay in proceedings on Sunday morning as makeshift repairs were made to the track.
Drizzle didn't help proceedings prompting Roger Williams, Aaron Lewis and Paul Trevethan to sit out the race and Ken Smith to start it on wet tyres.
By the time the cars rolled around the track twice, however, the track was virtually dry, meaning - in theory anyway - that Smith was going to be at a distinct disadvantage. Obviously no-one told the wily veteran though because he rocketed away from the start to put half the length of the start/finish straight on a following Steve Ross before easing off the pace to make sure he didn't completely destroy the only set of wet tyres he had brought with him.
Ross - who started on slick tyres - completed the race in a safe second place with a seven second buffer on a hard driving Sefton Gibb who in turn had Mike Whatley and David Abbott not far behind him.
Early on Ian Clements shadowed Gibb only to be slowed by contact with another car as he and Gibb were threading through lap traffic, the former series champion eventually crossing the finish line in eighth place.
Enjoying his best run of the meeting, meanwhile, was British visitor Daryl Taylor (Chevron B28) who finished sixth. Another to enjoy a strong run - crossing to line eighth - was prominent trucking industry identity Calven Bonney, driving his recently acquired ex Jim Murdoch/Phil Mauger/Noel Atley Begg 018.
Race 2 (Saturday afternoon)
This race was another Smith benefit, with Steve Ross tucking in behind the pole sitter as the field rumbled into the first corner leaving Mark Dwyer to fend off Roger Williams, Sefton Gibb and Ian Clements. As Smith edged away up front Ross built an early buffer on Dwyer only to have Dwyer close within striking distance then get past when Ross selected second instead of fourth gear as the pair accelerated down the start/finish straight.
Ross then proceeded to compound the error by spinning - harmlessly as it turned out - as he accelerated onto the back straight, meaning Williams was unchallenged behind Smith to the chequered flag, with Sefton Gibb getting the better of a race-long tussle for third place with Ian Clements, Ross fifth and Australian driver Aaron Lewis the best of the large group of visiting overseas drivers in sixth.
Mike Whatley was the first of the Class A competitors home in seventh with David Abbott eighth, Brett Willis (Lola T330) ninth and Greg Thornton (Surtees TS11) tenth.
Though he did not go quite as quickly as he did in the first race, the honours for fastest race lap time set again went to Ken Smith with a best lap time of 55.475
Race 1 (Saturday morning)
Smith got his weekend off to a winning start on Saturday morning, eventually leading the field across the finish line behind the Safety Car after visiting Monaco-based British driver Peter Dunn (March 73A) left the track late on the fourth lap.
Mark Dwyer shadowed Smith for the first six laps but was excluded from the results for passing under the yellow flag.
That left Steve Ross to assume the runner-up spot from Roger Williams, Sefton Gibb, David Abbott and the first of the Class A finishers, Mike Whatley.
Aaron Burson was a big mover early on, getting to sixth from 10th place before being forced out of the race with a blown head gasket. Also striking problems was Greg Thorton, Alastair Russell, Judy Lyons, Daryl Taylor and Shayne Windelburn.
After consecutive meetings at the two New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing - Bruce McLaren the MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series now crosses the Tasman for the two final 2009/10 series meetings at Phillip Island and the Australian Formula 1 Grand prix meeting in Melbourne in March.
The MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is organised and run with the support of sponsors MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney's Specialized Bulk Transport, Pacifica, Toll Holdings, Smith & Davies, Avon Tyres and Exide.
Ends
2009/10 MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series
Rnd 4
Qualifying
1. Kenny Smith (Lola T430) 55.078
2. Christopher Hyde (McRae GM1) 55.794
3. Mark Dwyer (Lola T332) 56.519
4. Steve Ross (McRae GM1) 56.690
5. Roger Williams (Lola T332) 56.758
6. Sefton Gibb (Lola T332) 57.463
7. Aaron Lewis (Matich A50) 57.683
8. David Abbott (Lola T430) 58.007
9. Michael Whatley (Surtees TS8) 58.007
10. Aaron Burson (McRae GM1) 58.307
11. Ian Clements (Lola T332) 58.750
12. Peter Dunn (March 73A) 59.166
13. Brett Willis (Lola T330) 59.624
14. Greg Thornton (Surtees TS11) 59.801
15. Hamish Paterson (Chevron B32) 1:00.771
16. Daryl Taylor (Chevron B28) 1:01.425
17. Bruce Leeson (McLaren M10B) 1:01.812
18. Tim Rush (McLaren M22) 1:03.062
19. Marcus Pye (Lola T332)1:03.969
20. Bill Hemming (Elfin MR8 A/C)1:04.555
21. Peter Burson (McRae GM1) 1:04.864
22. Kerry McIntosh (Begg FM5) 1:05.024
23. Kerry Anderson (Lola T142) 1:05.410
24. Poul Christie (Lola T190) 1:06.087
25. Shayne Windelburn (Lola T400) 1:08.396
26. Paul Trevethan (Elfin MR6L) 1:08.678
27. Calven Bonney (Begg 018) 1:33.005
28. Warwick Mortimer (Surtees TS5) 2:07.570
29. Alastair Russell (McRae GM1) 2:09.706
30. Judy Lyons (Gurney-Eagle FA74) 2:17.368
Race 1 (8 laps Saturday)
1. Ken Smith 10.35.658
2. Steve Ross +2.959
3. Roger Williams +3.523
4. Sefton Gibb +4.088
5. David Abbott +4.567
6. Mike Whatley +5.087
7. Aaron Lewis +5.554
8. Ian Clements +6.532
9. Brett Willis +6.984
10. Calven Bonney +7.650
11. Bruce Leeson +9.812
12. Tim Rush +10.284
13. Franik Lyons +10.537
14. Peter Burson +11.884
15. Poul Christie +12.173
16. Bill Hemming +12.511
17. Hamish Paterson +13.345
18. Kerry McIntosh +14.104
19. Kerry Anderson +1 lap
20. Paul Trevethan +1 lap
21. Warwick Mortimer +1 lap
dnf: Mark Dwyer, Aaron Burson, Greg Thornton, Alastair Russell, Peter Dunn, Judy Lyons, Daryl Taylor, Shane Windelburn
Race 2 (8 laps Saturday)
1. Ken Smith 7.37.851
2. Roger Williams +11.250
3. Sefton Gibb +14.696
4. Ian Clements +15.031
5. Steve Ross +19.684
6. Aaron Lewis +21.975
7. Mike Whatley +25.680
8. David Abbott +27.216
9. Brett Willis +27.583
10. Greg Thornton +27.884
11. Calven Bonney +28.826
12. Daryl Taylor +35.321
13. Tim Rush +39.231
14. Hamish Paterson + 47.607
15. Frank Lyons +49.485
16. Bruce Leeson + 55.792
17. Bill Hemming +1.02.704
18. Peter Burson +1 lap
19. Kerry McIntosh +1 lap
20. Poul Christie +1 lap
21. Kerry Anderson +1 lap
22. Paul Trevethan +1 lap
dnf Mark Dwyer, Shane Windelburn, Judy Lyons
Race 3 (8 laps Sunday )
1. Ken Smith 8.01.317
2. Steve Ross +4.663
3. Sefton Gibb +11.096
4. Mike Whatley +11.184
5. David Abbott +13.952
6. Daryl Taylor +14.140
7. Calven Bonney +14.670
8. Ian Clements +14.676
9. Brett Willis +35.805
10. Frank Lyons +44.811
11. Aaron Burson +46.777
12. Hamish Paterson +48.460
13. Poul Christie +1 lap
14. Kerry McIntosh +1 lap
15. Peter Burson +1 lap
16. Bill Hemming +1 lap
17. Greg Thornton +1 lap
18. Kerry Anderosn +1 lap
19. Judy Lyons +2 laps
20. Bruce Leeson +6 laps
dnf: Tim Rush
dns Roger Williams, Aaron Lewis, Paul Trevethan, Shayne Windelburn
Race 4 (NZ Festival of Motor Racing - Bruce McLaren Trophy 15 laps)
1. Ken Smith 16.32.739
2. Roger Williams +1.318
3. Steve Ross +5.698
4. David Abbott +15.798
5. Ian Clements +15.907
6. Sefton Gibb +35.811
7. Brett Willis +40.764
8. Aaron Lewis +41.436
9. Aaron Burson +46.016
10. Frank Lyons +47.724
11. Greg Thornton +48.806
12. Tim Rush +52.345
13. Hamish Paterson +54.534
14. Calven Bonney +55.647
15. Peter Burson +1 lap
16. Poul Christie +1 lap
17. Bruce Leeson +1 lap
18. Mike Whatley +1 lap
19. Bill Hemming +1 lap
20. Kerry Anderson +2 laps
dnf: Kerry McIntosh, Shane Windelburn, Daryl Taylor, Paul Trevethan, Judy Lyons. |
