Motorsport: Bell leads table before Ruapuna action

Kayne Scott won three times on his hometown track at the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercar meeting. Photo / Dean Purcell

The South Island welcomes the New Zealand Motorsport series circus this weekend for the second round of the national series.

Ruapuna Raceway, Christchurch, roars into action today with qualifying and the top 10 shot out for the BNT NZV8s.

Eddie Bell, to some the surprise championship leader, sits atop the table from former champs John McIntyre and Andy Booth with defending champion Kayne Scott back in sixth.

Bell had the measure of the talented field last time out, and although he found himself unfamiliarly at the front of the pack for most of the weekend, he's no stranger to winning. Bell won the 2006/07 Mini Challenge title.

"Everyone's talking up that I'll have home track advantage this weekend but that's a load of rubbish," said Bell. "Other than the fact I'll have a few extra supporters and I get to sleep in my own bed at night, that'll be about the only home advantage I'll have."

Bell may be a Christchurch native but he's done fewer laps around the Ruapuna track than most of the field he'll be up against It's a well-known fact that most of the V8 drivers don't have bad tracks so it'll be all on.

"Kayne Scott has spent a lot of time around this track from his TransAm days. From our point of view, though, we're just happy to be leading the title chase and if it does all turn to sh*t, at least we can say we led the championship for all of three weeks," said Bell.

The Canterbury driver may come across as a bit surprised at his good fortune, but in motorsport you grab anything that comes your way, as lady luck is a fickle mistress.

Don't make the mistake of thinking Bell is a bunny; he finished seventh at his first real go in the class last season in a car that wasn't at the top of its game.

The driving standard is so high in this class that it really does come down to the car and the team and the sponsorship package you have," said Bell.

Now all the drivers have blown the cobwebs out of their cars and themselves, Bell will have to be wary of McIntyre, keen to get his crown back, Angus Fogg, who's desperate to win his first championship, and Scott, who will be on fire tomorrow to prove Pukekohe was a one-off aberration.

"I wouldn't put Pukekohe down as our greatest meeting but they [points] all add up at the end of the year," said Scott. "We're sixth in the points and there's a hell of a lot of people in the field who like to be there.

"We had a few issues at Pukekohe that we couldn't iron out. We've done a lot of work since Pukekohe and ... we're feeling good about Ruapuna."

Others destined to apply pressure to Bell and company will be Booth, Craig Baird, Tim Edgell and relative newcomer, and another local, Andy Knight. It would come as no great surprise if the six-round series sees a different round winner each weekend.

The 15-strong field contesting the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge will also have their work cut out. It's going to be hard to look past more of the same sparring from Craig Baird and Matt Halliday, with teammates Daniel Gaunt and Jonny Reid joining them at the front of the pack.

The reverse top-six format of the final tomorrow has helped mix things up but with five consecutive titles to his name, defending champion Baird has proved if you can start your weekend well chances are it will end well.

POINTS

2009/10 BNT V8s Championship After Round 1:

1 Eddie Bell - 187
2 John McIntyre - 178
3 Andy Booth - 160
4 Angus Fogg - 157
5 Tim Edgell - 129
6 Kayne Scott - 127
7 Craig Baird - 121
8 Andy Knight - 117
9 Simon Richards - 110
10= Darryn Henderson - 88
10= Clark Proctor - 88
12 Nick Ross - 86