KEY POINTS:
New Zealand V8 drivers take their battles from the garages to the track again today as the Holdens and Fords compete in the second round of the championship at Ruapuna.
After Fords dominated the opening round at Pukekohe two weeks ago, a war of words erupted, with Holden drivers threatening to boycott Ruapuna unless technical adjustments were made to restore parity between the two marques.
They protested that Fords filled the first seven places in the points and Australian David Besnard had started from the back of the grid in the reverse grid race and still beaten reigning champion Kayne Scott, who had started on pole.
After extensive tests - and a lot of hot air from both sides of the argument - the authorities have decided to allow the Holdens to make a carburettor adjustment to improve a dead spot in the torque curve.
Kerry Cooper, general manager of the series, said officials were wary of overreacting to Ford's successful weekend. "The Ford teams at Pukekohe certainly appeared to be very well prepared and, among the Holden drivers, Paul Manuell was pretty much on the pace, so we believe it's right to approach the idea of changes to technical regulations with some caution."
The technical committees had decided the carburettor adjustment would be appropriate but, if it proved otherwise, it could be withdrawn. West Auckland Holden driver Andrew Anderson, who co-ordinated much of the Holden drivers' campaign for change, said it was clear from Pukekohe that the Fords had an advantage.
"We certainly don't want a knee-jerk reaction. But we were lagging in third and fourth gears and it's only a minor change," said Anderson.
"Ruapuna is a very different circuit, very technical with more corners. Some say it's a Holden circuit but last year, if Luke Youlden on pole hadn't taken out a couple of other Ford drivers at the first corner, it would have been a very different result."
One driver who will be at a disadvantage this weekend is championship leader Besnard, who has never competed at Ruapuna.
John McIntyre and Angus Fogg, second and third at Pukekohe, should still keep Ford to the fore even if Scott and former champion Andy Booth have their Holdens back on the pace.
In the other championship races, Aucklander Daniel Gaunt can expect a strong challenge from Andy Knight in the Toyota series, while Craig Baird, Matt Halliday and Fabian Coulthard will again dominate the Porsche GT-3s.
German Peter Scharmach, who won the debut round of the Mini Cooper Challenge, will have to carry 50kg of ballast and the locals will fancy their chances of beating him.
Meanwhile, in Bahrain the Aussie V8 Supercars will tackle a 3.6km version of the 5.4km Formula One circuit for the penultimate round of their championship. Holden driver Rick Kelly has a 73-point lead over Ford's Craig Lowndes, the Bathurst winner.
There are 640 points available until the end of the season.
The V8 round in Bahrain features a Thursday-to-Saturday schedule to accommodate the country's traditional weekend. There was a 100km race overnight and there will be two 140km races today.
