Foggy determined to hold V8s lead

Foggy determined to hold V8s lead

Heading to Christchurch for this weekend’s second round of the 2011/2012 BNT V8s championship, Birkenhead’s Angus Fogg has a solid incentive to hang on to his early points lead for the coveted New Zealand championship title.

Fogg arrives for this weekend’s 10-11 December round at the Powerbuilt Tools Raceway holding a 12-point lead after the first of six rounds.

Following an opening round roller coaster that saw the #2 Radio Sport Falcon badly damaged during the second race at Pukekohe, the 44-year-old says it is a distant memory as he focuses on not being the target for the chasing pack.

“It is,” says Fogg. “But in some ways it’s been brought back to me every time I worked on preparing the car to send it south. Now it is safely ensconced in Christchurch ready to rock and roll this weekend, so we can focus on keeping the trans-Tasman battle alive and well. Jason Bargwanna (Fogg’s closest rival in second place) will be red-hot because he’s just finished a hard season of V8 Supercar racing. Hopefully he won’t have recovered 100% from last Sunday’s celebrations of finishing 22nd.”

Fogg has been a regular behind the wheel, racing for two of the weekends since the early November season opener. Although he has kept the Radio Sport Falcon out of harm’s way, ready for the South Island sojourn.

Located 10km west of Christchurch city, the Ruapuna circuit’s flat nature makes it great for spectators but tricky for drivers. At 3.33km in length Fogg says its technical nature makes it hard one to get right:

“It rewards being aggressive yet being very precise. It’s quite different for a North Island guy to go down to a track that has mainly left-hand corners. And there also seems to be a difference in the track surface composition which makes it interesting for car setup. The guys that have tested there usually go pretty well, so I imagine Bargwanna will be right on the pace.”

Fogg starts his weekend with test sessions on the Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, before the race qualifying early Saturday afternoon. The top-ten fastest cars then have a one-lap shootout to determine the final starting order for the afternoon 12-lap race.

Early Sunday afternoon features a second 12-lap race with the top-ten grid reversed. The weekend finale is a 20-lap race from 4pm that includes a compulsory tyre change pit stop.

Angus Fogg acknowledges his family of sponsors in his quest to win New Zealand’s Gold Star Saloon title: Radio Sport, Mountshop, Hydraulink Hose & Fittings, Supercharge Batteries, Segedins Auto Spares of Dominion Road, Strapping Systems (NZ) Ltd, Moselle Panel & Paint, PPG, Affordable PartsWorld, HIAB Services, Delo, Brenics Transport Ltd, i-Sign it, Fromm Packaging Systems, Mason Tool & Engineering, Stainless Welding and Invercargill Oil Shop.

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