After a strong showing at Timaru International Motor Raceway in the fifth round of the BNT V8s last month Hamilton driver Simon Richards says he's heading in the right direction in the points standings.

Taking a season's best place of sixth place in the final race of the South Island tour of the series gave Richards and the team not only a motivational boost but also a charge upwards in points and placings gained.

With Richards now poised a mere 18 points outside of the Top 10 in the championship standings, it means the team's goal of getting back inside of that elusive group is clearly within reach after Timaru's success.

"There's a big bunch of us close together in the standings, it's pretty tight and all close on points but I'm pretty happy to be where we are and moving up towards where we want to be. We could do with some more of those results like at Timaru." said Richards.

Timaru often brings excitement to the BNT V8s with last month's race meeting fulfilling all expectations. An oil spill in the final race of the weekend had many cars off the circuit and into the wall with Richards being alert enough to avoid the slippery section of the track and stay on the seal to hold on to his position in the leading pack.

"Besides there being quite a bit of carnage there we had some good drives at Timaru and we will be looking at a repeat of that this weekend. We gave the car a good look over and I'm busy getting prepared for the weekend and we are looking for a good one." said Richards.

Heading to the fifth round of the BNT V8s this weekend held at Manfeild Autocourse in Feilding, Richards and the Ballistic Motorsport Team are feeling confident of another strong weekend. A thorough and stringent check over the car has ensured all is well before the meeting.

"With a quick turnaround of only two and a half weeks the team has spent many hours on preparation of the racecar. We've shifted the weight around in the car to be a bit easier on tyre wear and we are still fine tuning the new brake system to better manage the control of heat around the rotors. We've had a busy couple of weeks and now it's off to the mighty Manfeild." says team manager Steve Richards.

A fresh engine for this round from engine builder Tony Marsh will also help keep the SEW Eurodrive Ford on a competitive pace where Richards aims to be once again in the lead pack and finding points to re-enter the high flying group of Top 10 drivers.

Practice sessions at Manfeild Autocourse begin this Saturday the 12th February with qualifying and the Top 10 Shoot-out taking place in the afternoon. All three races of the round will take place on Sunday and will be televised the same day on TV3.

ENDS

© Scoop Media