Torrential weather plays havoc at IRC Thunder in the Park

Torrential weather plays havoc at IRC Thunder in the Park

Competitors turned out in bumper numbers for the 2011 running of Thunder in the Park over the weekend, however Sunday's horrible weather claimed more than its fair share of victims as competitors tip-toed their way around a slippery and treacherous Pukekohe Park Raceway.

Pre-event testing and Saturday's qualifying sessions and opening races were held in fine conditions, but as Sunday dawned so did a spell of heavy rain that refused to let up until the very end of race day.

Having grown in recent years to now be one of the draw cards of the New Zealand motorsport calendar, this year's Thunder in the Park event saw a number of notable additions to the IRC class fields.

NZV8 star Angus Fogg swapped his familiar Pre 65 'land crab' for a Holden Commodore in the mighty Central Muscle Cars, and joining him in the field was Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton, making a welcome return to motorsport in a Hopper-built Camaro.

This was Dalton's first competitive time behind the wheel since campaigning the Karcher backed Porsche 996 GT3 Cup Car back in 2005/06.

The weekend also marked the 20th Anniversary for the Mazda Pro 7 Racing class, held in conjunction with the first round of their New Zealand Champs. A number of South Island cars made the long trek up to Pukekohe for the event; many of whom hadn't visited the circuit before.

In the Chester's Plumbing and Bathrooms GT1 & GT2 Series, Nick Chester didn't quite reach his desired lap times but still easily took pole position and won the opening two races ahead of Glenn Smith in the ex-Tony Quinn Porsche GT3 RSR.

It was Smith who took the round win however, winning the final race as Chester faltered in the treacherous wet conditions.

In the NZGTs, David Hopper took two hard fought wins either side of Rick Bone who was the successor in the third. Despite being the more subtly tuned of the three GTRNZ categories, the top NZGT cars were still managing 64-second lap times around Pukekohe in dry conditions!

The wins in the National Securities Central Muscle Cars were shared between the fire-breathing regular front runners Shane Wigston, Clarke Hopkins and Paul Sinclair, and despite the classic builds and high horsepower machinery the Muscle Cars handled the wet conditions amicably during Sunday's two races.

There was plenty of carnage in Nitto Tyres NZ6, with Adam Newell winning both Super 6 races from Shane Wenzlick and Dave Dovey, and Darren Swinburne taking two victories in the HQ Holdens.

The first of Sunday's races however, was cancelled at the discretion of the NZ6 Committee after a serious accident early in the race in heavy rain, with a non-result deemed to be the safest option for all concerned.

In the Motul Oils SS2000 racing, opening round winner James Parker showed his class in winning the opening race of the weekend, but in the wet conditions it was Honda power that prevailed, with Ant Te Rito winning both of the Sunday races.

There was a return to familiar territory in the opening NZ Champs round of the Mazda Pro 7 Racing, with Pro 7 Plus returnee Matt Lockwood locking into battle with Dave McMillan; the pair battling hard with McMillan taking pole and race one, and Lockwood with a third and two victories to win the weekend outright.

Further back in the Series Ones, Terry Loving, Jarrod Parmenter and Matt Gibson shared the race victories between them.

Similar to the Central Muscle Cars, the big bangers in the Kumho Pre 65s battled hard in the wet conditions and inter-class racing was the order of the day with three separate race winners in Pete Stevenson, Richard Hill and Mike Johnston.

Robert Hulme was a surprise standout in the NZ Sports Cars, breaking the 60-second barrier on his way to pole position and two race wins, but Alan Barker denied him a clean sweep in taking the finale in a close battle to the finish with Trev Lines.

The young stars of tomorrow in the Weldwell Formula First Championship had their wits tested with the heavy rain and low visibility making for some risky slipstreaming battles! Kyle George took pole position by just 7/1000ths of a second but it was Michael Scott who won the opening race, and Matt Higham the two wet races on Sunday.

The Koken Super Mini Challenge saw Richard Wagstaff win the first and third races, with Steve Midgley taking victory in the second, while youngster Elliot Heron bounced back from an engine failure in race one to punch well above his weight in taking two outright podiums in the wet conditions.

The Bridgestone Porsche Championship, with the recent additions of more modern GT3-spec cars, was dominated by the 996 of Craig Innes, who took a full clean sweep of the weekend, including a 17-second gap to the nearest car in the final race.

Weather aside, the Thunder in the Park was once again a success, especially from the point of view of sheer competitor numbers, and proceeds from the weekend went to the Westpac Trust Rescue Helicopter.

The Pukekohe round was the fourth of a seven round calendar for the 2011/12 IRC Series, which travels from Manfeild to Taupo, and up to Pukekohe and Hampton Downs.

The IRC Series now heads into a well deserved Christmas break before kicking back into gear at Hampton Downs in early February.

ENDS

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