NZV8 Utes June 08

Pukekohe 2008

Monday, 30 June 2008 09:03

More action than you can poke a ute at...

The weather was poor but the racing was stunning and dramatic as the ENZED V8 UTES wrapped up the season on Pukekohe Raceway Saturday. A mix of torrential rain and sunshine had the drivers on edge and the teams wet as they prepared for a single day of racing which included Qualifying and Races 1, 2, 3.

Dangerous Dayne Running had the big off in qualifying when his throttle jammed open on the front straight causing him to career straight into the steel barriers. This halted qualifying early before many had a chance to secure good times - in particular season title contender Mack Bomba Peach who while fresh out on the track was only warming up when the session was red-flagged. He had the slowest time which only granted him 15 points, and at that stage it looked to be a devastating blow to his season.

Dangerous was therefore out of the ‘running' for this final round with a Ute beyond quick repair - until the Peach Super Freight team stepped forward. Regardless of the fact that the crash cost Bomba dearly in points, the spirit of this ute racing series came to the fore when Bomba and his Super Freight team offered Dangerous their spare ute to keep them in the racing for the rest of the day. It was a huge offer that was taken by Dayne and his team, and it was a gesture that will never be forgotten among the ranks of the ute racing series.

With five drivers in with a mathematical chance of securing the overall series title - slim yes, but possible - there needed to be no mistakes from the drivers on this wet and slippery track. This however was not the case for Caine the Ginja Ninja Lobb. On the last lap of the first race, Ginja was in 7^th position behind Simon Junior Beirne. With only 1 point in difference between 6^th and 7^th positions Ginja took a huge gamble on the hairpin that did not pay off. He left the track and was unable to return which added a DNF to his name - very important in the overall outcome of the season. The race was won by Matthew Phantom Lockwood who lead from start to finish off the grid, Grant Grunta Taylor came through in a stunning 2^nd position with Peter Kaos Ward - like Grunta - securing his first podium place of the season as he slotted himself into 3^rd after some stunning wet track passes.

Race 2 would like all the others be more than just a circulation, the season glory was still open for a few of the drivers and this had not only those behind the steering wheel but also those in the stands on the edge of their seats. The front row consisted of the two John Jones Steel machines, the Holden of Shrek and the Ford of Senior Beirne. In behind them was Junior with a strong chance of taking the win and closing the gap between himself and the Phantom who was to start at the rear of the grid (reverse grid from marble draw). It would be foolish to think there was to be no team tactics here, but the plan went a little haywire. It was obvious that Shrek and Senior were likely to let Junior past and then act as potential ‘blockers' for the rest of the field, but, in one of the most dramatic situations of the season, all three of the utes came together on the hairpin, Junior was spun by his own team and after self-recovery he was suddenly at the back of the pack and looking at the Phantom ahead of him through the windscreen, instead of the desired plan of viewing him way behind from the rear view mirror.

Still, this made Junior more determined and he made one of the biggest come-backs we have seen to date, as he slowly moved from last to finish 8^th - 1 spot behind the Phantom Matthew Lockwood who now had both hands of the series trophy. The Ginja Ninja secured the Race 2 win ahead of Dangerous Dayne Running in the borrowed Super Freight ute and Bob Sly & Dirty Grove came through with a 3^rd spot to add to his season points.

And so it came to the last race. And for the 1^st and 2^nd spot of the season and with the Phantom in front it was his to lose. Junior needed to finish high and at the same time needed Phantom to not finish. For 3^rd and 4^th positions it was down to the Bomba Mack Peach and the comeback king Caine Ginja Ninja Lobb. - step forward to the race of the season....

Junior was 8^th on the grid, Phantom on pole, Bomba was in 4^th spot and the Ginja in 15^th. Green flag - and all hell broke loose....

Dangerous Dayne Running was in 2^nd beside the Phantom and quickly grabbed the holeshot. Then a mighty battle begun between Kaos, Bomba, Sly & Dirty and the Phantom which never ceased the entire race. The Ginja Ninja wove his way through the field to 5^th spot from 15^th, a drive that had to be seen to be believed, and once more adding proof to the fact that he is a stunning racecar driver. But, he still had Bomba in front of him and also Simon Junior Beirne.

It was not to stay this way for long, for when the utes came over Ford Mountain, Junior was not to be seen - his engine had blown up and along with it his chances of stealing the ENZED Series Trophy away from the Phantom. He was still secured in 2^nd overall with enough of a gap from himself back to 3^rd, and so the focus went to the Phantom who had to just stay on the track, and to Ginja and Bomba who were battling for 3^rd overall.

Phantom at times looked to try and produce a risky pass on race leader Dangerous Dayne but thankfully he would back down and settle back into thinking about points - Until the last lap and the hairpin. The Phantom decided that he wanted not only the series win but the last race win to go along with it and when the utes came over Ford Mountain for the last time the Phantom had done what he wanted - probably not to the pleasure of his team, but nonetheless he had pulled the move off and he had ensured it was his name to appear on the top of the trophy. However it should be noted that he was passing Dangerous Dayne in the lent Super Freight ute and Dayne was possibly playing the smart game and not willing to ‘mix it up' when he was not in the running for series rewards and he was happy to come through with a 3^rd placing.

Meanwhile the battle for 3^rd and 4^th in the season was also down to the wire, but when Mack Bomba Peach crossed in 2^nd with the Ginja Ninja in 4^th all hands went to the calculators to see how the results would pan out.

The ensuing calculations had to be checked and rechecked, because the figures shown were just too amazing to believe, the odds of the result ever happening like this again would be too hard to fathom. To understand this, have a look at the following charts:

NZV8 UTE RACING 2008		Round 6 Pukekohe
		Q	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	Matthew Lockwood	29	39	26	39	133
2	Dayne Running	39	25	35	31	130
3	Miles Worsley	26	28	27	28	*109*
4	Mack Peach	15	29	29	35	*108*
5	Grant Taylor	23	35	21	27	*106*
6	Peter Ward	25	31	28	21	*105*
7	Caine Lobb	31	DNF	39	29	99
8	Ash Cairns	24	24	23	25	96
9	Graham Beirne	27	23	17	26	93
10	Simon Beirne	35	27	25	DNF	87
11	Bob Grove	28	26	31	DNF	85
12	Peter Robb	18	17	24	24	83
13=	James Urquhart	20	20	19	23	82
13=	Graig Paterson	19	21	22	20	82
15	Geoff Spencer	17	22	20	22	81
16	Frank Van Schaijik	22	19	18	19	78
17	David Kernahan	16	18	15	18	67
18	Temuera Morrison	21	16	16	DNF	53
19	Gene Rollinson	NE	NE	NE	NE	0
20	Paul Isaac	NE	NE	NE	NE	0

NZV8 UTE RACING 2008		Round One	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6
		Timaru	Teretonga	Taupo	Ruapuna	Manfeild	Pukekohe	Total
1	Matthew Lockwood	152	130	140	132	130	133	819
2	Simon Beirne	132	136	137	130	124	87	746
3	Mack Peach	128	120	115	112	84	108	667
4	Caine Lobb	86	109	109	148	115	99	666
5	Miles Worsley	109	108	112	101	118	109	657
6	Graham Beirne	98	105	85	106	108	93	595
7	Grant Taylor	102	100	88	83	85	106	564
8	Peter Robb	90	88	78	96	99	83	534
9	Geoff Spencer	101	93	57	93	85	81	510
10	Ash Cairns	0	96	92	94	102	96	480
11	Graig Paterson	77	107	83	38	81	82	468
12	Peter Ward	78	98	70	68	48	105	467
13	Dayne Running	0	0	112	119	87	130	448
14	James Urquhart	95	88	58	43	54	82	420
15	Temuera Morrison	89	0	67	91	84	53	384
16	Bob Grove	0	0	97	0	114	85	296
17	Frank Van Schaijik	0	0	0	60	74	78	212
18	Gene Rollinson	0	0	97	0	0	0	97
19	Paul Isaac	0	79	0	0	0	0	79
20	David Kernahan	0	0	0	0	0	67	67