McIntyre’s heated top three battle for NZV8 championship

McIntyre’s heated top three battle for NZV8 championship continues in Hamilton

John McIntyre, two-time NZV8 champion, remains right in the hunt for this season’s BNT V8 Championship title after finishing in second place in the first of the three final races.

McIntyre finished second to current series leader Angus Fogg after an action-packed 12-lap race on the streets of Hamilton where the NZV8 crews are racing in their championship final as part of the ITM 400 V8 Supercar event.

The hard-fought chase for the V8 championship will go down to the wire, says the Nelson-based race driver. “Both Angus and I had some moments during that race when the whole championship fight could have been over.”

Having secured pole position during Friday’s top ten shootout, McIntyre said the #1 grid position is slightly less advantageous in the wet.

“We frontrunners were all out on wet tyres for this afternoon’s race. While it wasn’t actually raining, the track was still quite wet. The #1 slot is on painted lines which were slippery, so it was harder to get going and Angus got the better start.”

McIntyre held second behind Fogg for several laps before getting passed by Christchurch’s Andy Knight.

“It was intense racing for sure and Angus got a bit of a lead over us. When the safety car came out due to a multi-car pile-up partway down the field, Angus’ advantage disappeared. At the restart, Andy’s move on Angus just about took them both out and also gave me the change to get back into second. Craig Baird and then Andy Booth also got passed Andy Knight, and that’s how we finished – Angus, me, Craig, and the two Andy’s.”

McIntyre now has 998 points compared to Fogg with 1050 and Baird with 1003.

“This is a good solid start to the weekend for John McIntyre Racing and the Blackwoods Paykels Protector Safety Falcon,” says Johnny Mac. “It’s good to have the wet race out of the way and we’ve still collected a strong points’ total from second place. With 150 points up for grabs in Sunday’s final two races of the season, this championship is not over yet. We’ll be starting on the front row beside Angus and the battle is absolutely going down to the wire.”

The penultimate race of the NZV8 season starts at 9:20am followed by a 16-lap contest at 1:40pm. Television coverage of the NZV8 races screens throughout the live Gillette Motorsport show on TV3.

John McIntyre Racing thanks the following sponsors for their support this season: 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.

More details about McIntyre and his team can be found on www.jmr.co.nz or follow John McIntyre Racing on Facebook.
ENDS/

BNT V8s Championship, Top 10 Shootout for Round 7
Qualifying position, Driver, Qualifying time
1, John McIntyre, 1:30.9702
2, Angus Fogg, 1:31.3011
3, Tim Edgell, 1:31.8338
4, Andy Knight, 1:31.9334
5, Kayne Scott, 1:32.1968

BNT V8s Championship, Race 1 results, Round 7
Position, Driver, Total race time
1, Angus Fogg, 23:37.7016
2, John McIntyre, 23:42.2520
3, Craig Baird, 23:42.6364
4, Andy Booth, 23:44.4976
5, Andy Knight, 23:44.4999

BNT V8s Championship Points after Race 1 of Round 7
Position, Driver, Car, Hometown, Points
1, Angus Fogg, Falcon, Auckland, 1050
2, Craig Baird, Falcon, Gold Coast, 1003
3, John McIntyre, Falcon, Nelson, 998
4, Andy Booth, Commodore, Auckland, 869
5, Andy Knight, Falcon, Christchurch, 851

John McIntyre Racing’s 2010-11 racing schedule
5-7 Nov 2010 – NZV8 Championship round 1: Pukekohe Park
26-28 Nov 2010 – NZV8 Championship round 2: Ruapuna Park
14-16 Jan 2011 – NZV8 Championship round 3: Teretonga Park
21-23 Jan 2011 – NZV8 Championship round 4: Timaru International Raceway
11-13 Feb 2011 – NZV8 Championship round 5: Manfeild
11-13 Mar 2011 – NZV8 Championship round 6: Taupo Motorsport Park
15-17 Apr 2011 – NZV8 Championship round 7 (ITM 400 V8SC support races): Hamilton

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