Pitstop: V8 champion needs wins to retain title

Defending V8 champion Andy Booth has not given up hope of retaining his title despite trailing Wade Henshaw by 150 points with three rounds to go.

The 150-point difference is the equivalent of two race wins. With nine races still to be run, Booth or third-placed Kayne Scott remain threats to the Christchurch driver. All three drive Holden Commodores.

"Henshaw did a fantastic job on the car over the winter and he's raced very well, but while the points are there we're still in with a chance," said Booth from his Auckland base.

"I was in a very similar position to Henshaw last year and I was never entirely comfortable. One bad race, particularly if it's the first of the round, and you can very quickly slip back.

"He's been going well on the tracks down south, which he knows well. This weekend we're at Manfeild, where I've had some race wins. I love it because it's a proper racetrack and you can really race."

Booth said his team had found and rectified a problem with the rear of his chassis, which had affected his performance at the last round. He would also have a new engine, while others might be affected by a recent clarification of the engine rules.

The top six in the championship are Henshaw (Holden) 792 points, Booth (Holden) 642, Scott (Holden) 590, Paul Manuell (Holden) 567, John McIntyre (Ford) 523 and Shane Drake (Ford) 517.

Another South Islander, Brent Collins, leads the new Toyota series from fellow Christchurch driver Matthew Hamilton with Aucklander Daniel Gaunt third. But talented teen Brendon Hartley may be the one to watch back on his home circuit.

Rally exports

Three cars from a past era of rallying have left New Zealand to compete in an Irish rally, which will feature 26 of these cars as part of the Killarney round of the national championship.

The three are Group B cars - virtually silhouette cars with plastic bodies around a rollcage and engine. With almost unlimited horsepower, they were rated too fast and fragile and were banned from the world championship.

All the cars shipped to Ireland last week were originally imported by Peter (PJ) Johnson.

Two are MG Metro 6R4s and the other is a Peugeot 205T16. Johnson sold the two Metros, and has rebuilt and rallied the Peugeot himself in events such as the Dunlop Targa.

One of the Metros was bought by former racing driver Peter Sundberg and the other by Gavin and Miles Hicks. They will drive their cars in the Irish rally, which last year attracted more than 200,000 spectators.

The Peugeot has been sold overseas, but Johnson says the container won't be coming back empty.

Kart star signed

New Zealand will have a second driver competing on the IRL circuit in the United States this year after Brian Stewart Racing signed former world karting champion Wade Cunningham to spearhead its Infiniti Pro Series programme. The series is a support class for the Indy Racing League in which Scott Dixon competes for the Target Ganassi team.

Cunningham, who is 20, completed a 234-lap test with the Canadian team at the Phoenix International Raceway last week and his first race in the team's Dallara will be at Florida's Homestead-Miami oval on March 6.

The Aucklander is entered in this weekend's Toyota races at Manfeild but will miss the penultimate round of that championship in early April.

Formula 3 chances

Teenage drivers Nic Jordan and Marc Williams have been signed by the Australian Formula Three championship-winning team, BRM.

Jordan won the trophy class championship for older model cars last season and returns with the Adelaide-based team in a bid to win the outright championship, while his seat in the trophy class has been taken this year by Williams.

The pair, both originally from Taranaki and both aged 16, have raced together before in karting and the Formula First championship but this is the first time they have been team-mates. Jordan now lives in Te Awamutu and Williams in New Plymouth.

They will make their racing debut at Wakefield Park in Goulburn, New South Wales, before competing in support races to the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on March 3 to 6 at Melbourne.

No ride or drive

Cancellation of the John Britten Memorial event in Christchurch on March 20, which was also to be the final round of both the Superbike and 600 sports production championships, has been a cruel blow for Timaru rider John Hepburn.

Hepburn gave up a truck-racing drive on his home track to concentrate on campaigning his Kawasaki ZX6 in the 600 sports production championship when the Britten event clashed with the truck racing at Timaru.

Champ Car director

New Zealander Paul "Ziggy" Harcus has been appointed a director of operations for the Champ Car series in the United States. He had previously worked with the Pacwest team for which Scott Dixon once drove.