Motorsport: Cunninghams to test endurance

Today's inaugural Altherm 1000 endurance race at the Hampton Downs circuit has flown a little under the radar since the race was announced in February. Initially the event was going to be two 500km races held over Saturday and Sunday but has morphed into a one-off 500km race today.

The New Zealand V8s will not be racing nor will many of the Suzuki Swifts, just leaving the Porsche GT3s, open and production classes to fight it out. The NZV8s have decided not to race and who can blame them. Race technology that Noah left behind when he set sail is no contest for the purpose-built Porsches, which are raced all around the world in endurance trim.

As for the Suzukis, after the Hamilton round of the Australian V8 Supercars, where they were a support class, there can't too many of them left without some sort of damage. Also, the drivers would be spending more time looking in the rear vision mirror wondering what would be thundering up behind them every 10 or so laps.

"We decided to keep the name [Altherm 1000] as everyone knew the race as that, although it's now only 500 kilometres," said general manager of The Motorsport Company Kerry Cooper. "The NZV8s are going to have their own 250 kilometre endurance race at round two of the summer series at Ruapuna."

Despite a drop in numbers the race isn't without some high-profile drivers. The only man to win the Firestone Indy Lights - support for the Indianapolis 500 - race three times, Kiwi Wade Cunningham, is teaming up with his brother Mitch in a Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car, the same car the former Toyota Racing Series winner Mitch raced in the 2009-10 Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship.

"Because we planned this before I signed up to do the Freedom 100 it was a bit of a rush getting out of Indy and back down here," said Wade. "But you know, it's always nice to come home and if I can drive something when I'm here all the better."

It will be the first time in a tin-top for former world karting champion Wade and the first time at Hampton Downs for his brother Mitch. Both see the race as a chance to get a first-hand feel for endurance-style racing.

"Getting used to the car is the main thing and it's not too different from what I'm used to. The biggest thing is getting used to the brakes and how long the thing takes to slow down. You just don't have the same feel as in a light single seater," said Wade.

The Carter brothers Matt and Dwayne in their modified Australian V8 Supercar-style Ford Falcon along with Mitch and Simon Evans will keep the Cunningham's honest. Mitch Evans is the current TRS champion and lies second in the Australian F3 series and is also new to racing a car with a roof.

"The hardest thing I'm finding is going back to an H-pattern gearbox in a 996," said Mitch. "The TRS and F3 cars both have sequential boxes and when you're going hard it's so easy to find the wrong gear."

Each driver will get one 20-minute test session before both drivers each face a 20-minute qualifying session at 10.35am. The race is expected to launch into action at 12.30pm and take four hours.

Cars will complete around 179 laps of the 2.8km circuit hammering through over 1000 corners. The winning team will have put in consistent lap times, have a reliable car and a pit crew who know how to go about their jobs.