Pilcher heads for V8 Supercar Event

PILCHER HEADS FOR V8 SUPERCAR EVENT

Winton based NZ Touring Car driver Nathan Pilcher will be on the grid at next weekend's ITM 500 at Pukekohe Park near Auckland.

Pilcher will line up for the second round of the 2015/2016 BNT NZ Touring Car Series, one of the main supporting races for the Australian V8 Supercars at the event, which takes place from 6-8 November.

After finishing fourth in the TL Class of the V8 Touring Car Championship last season Pilcher had been forced to miss the opening round this season due to budget constraints. However, confirmation that ZIC OIL NZ would sponsor the Pilcher Racing Team at this event as late as last Friday has allowed Pilcher to line up at the country's biggest motor racing event of the year in his Holden Commodore. Additional support comes from Magnum Compliance and Winton Autos.

However the Pilcher Racing Team are on a tight schedule to make it to the startline. Unforeseen delays getting engine parts means that the motor and gearbox will only be ready for installation in the Commodore at the team's Winton base on Friday night. From there the car will be loaded into the truck to head to Central Performance in Alexandra and Nick Dalgety for a pre-race check on Saturdaymorning. From there it will be on to Blenheim before a Sunday morning ferry crossing. After that the car is due in Auckland on Monday morning to receive it's new ZIC OIL NZ livery for the up and coming rounds.

The car, resplendent in it's new livery, will be unveiled at Schofield Holden in Newmarket in Auckland on Thursday before heading for the track. The ZIC OIL promotional team and van with new posters of the car will be at the circuit over the weekend to meet and greet the massive crowds the event attracts.

Pilcher is excited to be back on track, particularly at the ITM 500. "I have never been to a V8 Supercar meeting before and have only ever watched them on TV, so it's going to be great to be racing at the same meeting as the guys who we have all grown up watching in the V8 Supercar Series," he say's. "In the off season we have rebuilt the engine, gearbox and diff which should make the car handle and go better than last year. A lot of money and time has been spent on getting it ready."

After Pukekohe, Pilcher hopes to race at the next round of the series, the V8 Festival at Hampton Downs at the end of November, and then continue for the rest of the NZ Touring Car Series. "However that will all come down to sponsorship and budget," he say's.

ENDS

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