Lightfoot Takes Round Win After Dramatic Weekend

Lightfoot Takes Round Win After Dramatic Weekend

Mike ’Buzz’ Lightfoot halted the Chris Hanley steamroller with a huge round win at the Brother 350 meeting at Pukekohe this weekend, the third round of the UDC NZ V8 Utes series.

In a weekend packed with drama in all racing categories competing at the event, Lightfoot bounced back from a disastrous first race which left him in the barrier after starting from pole.

On Sunday it just got better and better for Lightfoot, as he bagged a third, then a second and then a first as Hanley hit trouble first with a big shunt in race 3 and a messy race 4. Seventh for the round was his worst result to date, but was enough to maintain a 37 point lead in the championship chase ahead of Peter ‘Kaos’ Ward.

RACE 1 – Abandoned

Bad weather forced the cancellation of the first race of the UDC NZ V8 Ute series at Pukekohe Park Raceway this afternoon, a deluge at the start of the race putting three cars out and forcing stewards to abandon the race.

The circuit's legendary bad weather caused instant mayhem, pitching pole sitter Mike Lightfoot and Hamish Cross off and into the tyre barriers at Turn 2.

With cars slithering all over the soaked track, the stewards called the Safety Car. The red flag was then called and almost immediately afterwards the race was cancelled, with the poor weather causing the stewards to declare 'force majeure' and abandon the race, with no result declared and no points awarded. There would be, however, plenty of work for mechanics on the machines of Urquart, Lightfoot and Cross.

RACE 2 - Hanley in charge in challenging conditions

Series leader Chris Hanley showed his skills in the wet this morning at Pukekohe Park, winning the first full race for the utes of the weekend in decisive fashion.

Pole sitter Mike Lightfoot, who's ute was repaired overnight following a race stopping shunt in Saturday's Race 1 - led away from the wet start, followed closely by Dave Kernohan and the rest of the field.

Hanley was immediately on the move as the rest of the field found their pace, and at the start of lap three having already found his way into second place, Hanley passed Lightfoot for the lead up the bumpier inside line on the home straight. Kernohan remained in third but was coming under increasing pressure from Peter Ward, once again showing fine racing form. The rest of the field was bumper to bumper in a spectacular sliding train. As the cars blasted down the main straight, Ward went for the outside of Kernohan and made a difficult pass stick, entering the new look section in third.

He then set about Mike Lightfoot, who was fast but not quite as confident as Saturday in his rebuilt machine. He passed Lightfoot down the main straight as well, this time on lap six and settled into a strong second place.

That's the way it remained for the remaining two laps, and Hanley crossed the line the race winner to extend his already impressive series lead. Ward took second and Lightfoot a solid third, a good reward for his mechanics after a lot of effort on their part to get him out there racing.

James 'Huggi' Urquart took fourth, another to have had a fair bit of work done on a ute damaged on Saturday. Dave Kernohan was fifth, followed by son Jeff. Peter Robb took seventh with Brett Rudd, Geoff Spencer and Aussie guest Rod Dawson rounding out the top ten.

UDC NZV8 Utes - Round 3 - Brother 350 Pukekohe Park - Race 2

1.             Chris Hanley                          Holden VE

2.             Peter Ward                           Holden VE

3.             Mike Lightfoot                      Ford BF

4.             James Urquart                      Holden VE

5.             Dave Kernohan                    Ford BF

6.             Jeff Kernohan                       Ford BF

7.             Peter Robb                            Holden VE

8.             Brett Rudd                             Holden VE

9.             Geoff Spencer                      Ford BF

10.          Rod Dawson                          Ford BF

RACE 3 - Spencer takes popular win

Geoff Spencer took only his second win in the UDC NZV8 Ute series in over 100 attempts in an incident-packed third race at Pukekohe Park today at the Brother 350 meeting.

Spencer led the reverse marble draw grid after a blistering start but the race only lasted until turn three when Aussie guest Rod Dawson spun his Ford on the exit of the corner and was hit broadside by series leader Chris Hanley in his Holden - eliminating both from the race and forcing Hanley into his first retirement of the year.

The heavy impact brought the race to a halt and away from the restart Spencer did it again, blasting away into a healthy lead he was never to surrender.

Behind him, Mike Lightfoot showed yet more speed in the lurid green Ford and worked his way through the field to an impressive second place. Brett Rudd finished third and the father and son duo of Jeff and Dave Kernohan bagged their best collective result of the season so far with a fourth and a fifth.

Chris Berry finished sixth, Peter Robb seventh, Peter Ward eighth and Hamish Cross ninth in the BNT-backed Ford ute.

"I got a great start off the line in the first race, really awesome. I hooked the inside line on the first time and then just got my head down ready to go for it. Fortunately I was able to do exactly the same in the restart from the front row of the grid and again was off like a robber's dog. These things are a handful in the wet, they really are, but we made it through and in the right place for once. I'm stoked."

UDC NZV8 Utes - Round 3 - Brother 350 Pukekohe Park - Race 3

1.             Geoff Spencer                      Holden VE

2.             Mike Lightfoot                      Ford BF

3.             Brett Rudd                             Holden VE

4.             Jeff Kernohan                       Ford BF

5.             Dave Kernohan                    Ford BF

6.             Chris Berry                            Ford BF

7.             Peter Robb                            Holden VE

8.             Peter Ward                           Holden VE

9.             Hamish Cross                        Ford BF

DNF         James Urquart                      Holden VE

DNF         Rod Dawson                          Ford BF

DNF         Chris Hanley                          Ford BF

RACE 4 - Lightfoot comes good

Mike Lightfoot put the dramas of the first day behind him and gave his mechanics the best possible reward for their hard work by winning the race and securing the round after a lights-to-flag win in the final race of the weekend for the UDC NZV8 Utes at Pukekohe Park.

He never put a foot wrong and held on to win by three seconds in a race shortened after Peter Robb and Peter Ward made contact, sending Robb into heavy contact with the outside barrier entering the Ford Mountain section.

Chris Hanley recovered well to take third, and reckoned he could have got higher had the race run its full eight laps. The series leading Holden had enjoyed a hasty front end rebuild after his Race 3 crash, but it was decidedly second hand again after the race. "It made little difference in the conditions and I am pretty pleased to get third place after what happened in the third race. A top effort by the team to get me back out there."

"I had a quick car all weekend and it's just been getting better and better. It's only my fourth race weekend in it and it is a fast ute. Really though, winning the race and the round is really down to my mechanics. They had a lot of work to do last night after the crash in the first race and they delivered a race car that was fast and consistent straight away. I'm absolutely stoked to win and win in very challenging and demanding conditions. The utes are genuinely very difficult to drive and they require a lot of skill as a racing driver to get the most out of them.

“All the field did a good job and there were more incidents in other fields than in the utes."

UDC NZV8 Utes - Round 3 - Brother 350 Pukekohe Park - Race 4

1.             Mike Lightfoot                      Ford BF

2.             Geoff Spencer                      Holden VE

3.             Chris Hanley                          Holden VE

4.             Brett Rudd                             Holden VE

5.             Peter Ward                           Holden VE

6.             Dave Kernohan                    Ford BF

7.             Jeff Kernohan                       Ford BF

8.             Hamish Cross                        Ford BF

9.             Rod Dawson                          Ford BF

10.          James Urquart                      Holden VE

11.          Chris Berry                            Ford BF

Not classified:       Peter Robb            Holden VE

ROUND RESULTS  -               TOP TEN

1.       Mike Lightfoot                      93

2.       Geoff Spencer                      83

3.       Peter Ward                           71

4.       Brett Rudd                             69

5.       D Kernohan                           64

6.       J Kernohan                            63

7.       Chris Hanley                          62

8.       Chris Berry                            50

9.       James Urquart                      40

10.    Peter Robb                            38

11.    Rod Dawson                          33

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS

1.       Chris Hanley                          303

2.       Peter Ward                           266

3.       Mike Lightfoot                      253

4.       Brett Rudd                             219

5.       Dave Kernohan                    204

6.       Jeff Kernohan                       197

7.       Rob Gibson                            192

8.       Hamish Cross                        175

9.       James Urquart                      152

10.    Geoff Spencer                      144

11.    Peter Robb                            104

12.    Elton Goonan                        50

13.    Chris Berry                            35

14.    Rod Dawson                          16

ENDS

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