Pither Takes ENZED V8 Ute Title In Dramatic Finale

Pither Takes ENZED V8 Ute Title In Dramatic Finale

Chris Pither ‘The Gypsy’ retained his ENZED V8 Ute Challenge title after a dramatic series of races on the streets of Hamilton this weekend.

Pither overcame a huge early season point deficit after a string of problems with his Gallagher XR8 Falcon and spent the second half of the championship playing catch up.

He arrived at the final round still 71 points behind Whangarei driver Caine Lobb, ‘The Ginja Ninja’, but after three action packed races he emerged as champion. Simon ‘Jnr Burner’ Beirne of Christchurch was also impressive on the streets of Hamilton and grabbed second in the series with Lobb finishing third after his weekend turned into a nightmare.

The defining moment of the series came in the opening race of the round on Saturday. Lobb tagged the back of Pither in the Gallagher XR8 Falcon at the opening corner of the race and the resulting damage forced Lobb out. Pither recovered to finish second behind Beirne in the Team McDonald’s Falcon. That put Pither into the points lead for the first time in the series and meant the top three were separated by just 75 points with two races to go.

The second race of the round on Sunday morning clinched it for Pither. The race was a beauty with the three title contenders Pither, Lobb and Simon Beirne all down the grid. From the start James ‘Huggi’ Urquhart of Karaka led from Peter ‘Rocketman’ Robb of Wanganui in the Hill Country Helicopters Holden, a battle that went the way of Robb when Urquhart spun at the chicane when his engine blew.

Robb carried on in the lead while the three main players were on their way through the traffic. Pither and Lobb raced side by side as they battled it out and soon after it was Pither and Beirne battling door to door. Pither was in the lead by lap 6 while at the same time Lobb pitted with an overheating problem in the Mark Cromie Holden.

Pither went on to win from Beirne with Peter ‘Kaos’ Ward in third. Robb’s great drive came to an end when he was bumped off the circuit on the final lap, rejoining near the back. Australian Brett ‘Big Nutz’ Holdsworth and Auckland drivers Mike ‘Buzz’ Lightfoot and Scott ‘Precious’ McKelvie were next.

The win assured Pither of the title, his second in succession.

He then put the icing on the cake in the finale as he raced away to a good win from Beirne. Second place in the race secured the runner-up position in the series for the Canterbury driver. Lobb charged through the field but could only get to fifth behind Pither, Beirne, Lightfoot and Ward in the Ward Demolition Holden. The result meant that Lobb, the leader all season until the penultimate day of the series, dropped to third in the points behind Pither and Beirne.

Pither took the round win from Beirne and Lightfoot who also secured fourth in the series ahead of McKelvie.

An elated Chris Pither said he and the team always thought they could capture the championship. “No one in the team ever gave up. They always had a positive attitude.” After winning a number of championships in his career Pither had to fight hard for this one after the horror start to the series. “This makes the other ones seem pretty easy. This one was a challenge. We had our dramas.”

Beirne too was happy. ‘It’s great. We are second overall at the Hamilton Street Race in tricky conditions and second in the championship. That will get people talking. I’d rather be the bridesmaid on the podium than watching other guys get up there.”

Lobb was naturally dejected. “We had two DNF’s (non finishes) in the series and they were both at this round. However we still made the top three in the series.”

Australian visitor Holdsworth was rapt with the Hamilton circuit and ENZED V8 Utes. I’d love to come back.”

Peter Ward put his good weekend form down to some dirt track karting in Christchurch last weekend. “My daughter beat me and I needed redemption,” he laughed.

Support for the category comes from ENZED, UDC Finance, Radio Hauraki, Yokohama, Castrol, Citizen Watches, Exedy, Armorall, SCT and EFILive.

Series website - www.v8utes.co.nz

Series Points: (Final - Provisional)
Pither – 1775, S Beirne – 1684, Lobb – 1663, Lightfoot – 1193, McKelvie – 1183, Spencer – 1111, Ward – 1054, Robb – 985, G Beirne – 850, J Kernohan – 831, D Kernohan – 772, Urquhart – 757, Stewart – 655, Hanley – 600, Waite – 436, Jarvis – 419, Holdsworth – 183, Grove – 164, Morton – 146, Pero – 75, Joblin – 74,

QUALIFYING
1: Chris Pither – Queensland (Ford) 1 minute 41.2320
2: Simon Beirne – Christchurch (Ford) 1.42.2030
3: Caine Lobb - Whangarei (Holden) 1.43.6776
4: Brett Holdsworth – Brisbane (Ford) 1.43.8693
5: Scott McKelvie – Auckland (Holden) 1.44.0197
6: Mike Lightfoot – Auckland (Ford) 1.44.0201
7: Peter Ward – Auckland (Holden) 1.44.1506
8: Dave Stewart – Wellington (Holden) 1.44.4411
9: Graham Beirne – Christchurch (Ford) 1.45.1791
10: James Urquhart – Karaka (Holden) 1.45.3281
11: Peter Robb – Wanganui (Holden) 1.45.5402
12: Geoff Spencer – Palmerston North (Holden) 1.45.7360
13: Jeff Kernohan – Turangi (Ford) 1.46.2300
14: David Kernohan – Turangi (Ford) 1.46.5254
15: Mark Joblin – Hamilton (Ford) 1.53.9919

RACE 1 (MARBLE DRAW) 8 LAPS
1:Simon Beirne
2:Chris Pither
3:Mike Lightfoot
4:Geoff Spencer
5:Graham Beirne
6:James Urquhart
7:Jeff Kernohan
8: Dave Stewart
9:Scott McKelvie
10: Brett Holdsworth
11:Peter Ward
12:David Kernohan
13:Peter Robb
DNF:Caine Lobb
DNS: Mark Joblin

RACE 2 (REVERSE MARBLE DRAW) 8 LAPS
1:Chris Pither
2:Simon Beirne
3:Peter Ward
4: Brett Holdsworth
5:Mike Lightfoot
6:Scott McKelvie
7: Dave Stewart
8:Graham Beirne
9:Jeff Kernohan
10:Geoff Spencer
11:Peter Robb
12:David Kernohan
13: Mark Joblin
DNF:Caine Lobb
DNF:James Urquhart

RACE 3 (GRID BASED ON ROUND POINTS) 8 LAPS
1:Chris Pither
2:Simon Beirne
3:Mike Lightfoot
4:Peter Ward
5:Caine Lobb
6:Geoff Spencer
7: Brett Holdsworth
8:Scott McKelvie
9:Jeff Kernohan
10:David Kernohan
11: Dave Stewart
12:Graham Beirne
13: Mark Joblin
DNF: Peter Robb
DNS:James Urquhart

© Scoop Media