Plenty Of Pace At Pukekohe

Plenty Of Pace At Pukekohe

The new Fujitsu Racing Team made a positive debut in the BNT V8s Championship when the first round of the 2010/2011 series took place at Pukekohe Park Raceway last weekend.

Two-time NZV8 Champion Kayne Scott debuted a striking new livery on the Fujitsu Falcon and showed the pace that has seen him achieve a huge amount of success throughout his career.

Kayne and the Fujitsu Falcon were constantly amongst the best times throughout practice and qualifying. Scott recorded the fastest time in a shakedown session on Friday and was second fastest in the first practice session before topping the timesheets in the second. In qualifying he was third fastest, just .0097 from the quickest time. In the top ten shootout Kayne was fifth, less than half a second off pole, offering his own frank assessment that he did not quite get the lap together.

The early pace was evident once again on Sunday. In the opening 12 lap contest on Sunday morning the Fujitsu Falcon posted the fastest race lap. Kayne looked to be on target for fifth place until a tyre delaminated over the top of the hill entering Pukekohe's fast main straight. Scott could only let the car roll down the hill to the finish, crossing the line in ninth place.

"The symptoms were there from early on," said Kayne as he talked about the delamination after the race. "I had understeer of the magnitude I have never previously experienced from early on."

The Racing Projects squad looked to overcome the tyre issue in the second race with a different set-up on the Fujitsu Falcon. However Kayne conceded after the race it wasn't one that he was comfortable with. Nevertheless he had the car in sixth place until a spin which dropped him to ninth in the final order.

The Fujitsu Falcon was back on the pace in the final race, the traditional reverse grid event. Kayne worked his way through to eighth place by half distance, on target for a top result until again a tyre lost its tread. A pit stop was required, Kayne rejoining to see out the race. "We held our own and kept the backmarkers who were coming through behind us. We got through the field relatively quickly."

The team will now go through a setdown to establish the cause of the tyre issues but overall there were many pleasing aspects from the round. "After last season we concluded that we needed to focus on our engine to match the power of others in the field," says Kayne. "We did a huge amount of work and we are pleased with the results and have overcome the lack of power."

The future looks positive as Kayne says, "I'm excited about going to the balance of the circuits after the opening round. I'm looking forward to Ruapuna (Powerbuilt Tools Raceway). We had real speed at Pukekohe and we have a fantastic Ruapuna set-up. I am confident that after all the hard work our engine is on a par so I am looking forward to the next round."

The team are pleased to retain their major sponsors Fujitsu and Altherm for the 2010/2011 season as well as other returning sponsors Trade Tools, Castrol, PPG and CRC. Welcome newcomers to the team this year are Hansen, Hirepool, South Auckland Ford, InterCity, Exedy, Century Yuasa, BOC Gases, King Springs and TL Print.

The opening round was a great spectacle with good racing, a superb crowd and plenty of television coverage for the Fujitsu Falcon and the remainder of the series promises much more of the same.

The next round at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna on the outskirts of Christchurch takes place from 26-28 November.
CALENDAR 2010/2011 BNT V8s CHAMPIONSHIP
Round 1 - 5-7 November 2010: Pukekohe Park Raceway, Auckland
Round 2 - 26-28 November 2010: Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway, Ruapuna, Christchurch
Round 3 - 14-16 January 2011: Teretonga Park, Invercargill
Round 4 - 21-23 January 2011: Timaru International Motor Raceway, Timaru
Round 5 - 11-13 February 2011: Manfeild Park, Feilding
Round 6 - 11-13 M arch 2011: Taupo Motorsport Park, Taupo
Round 7 - 15-17 April 2011: Hamilton 400, Hamilton

ends

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