Motorsport: Different pedigrees but same hunger

Both sell cars in Great South Rd, Auckland, but New Zealand V8 rivals Andy Booth and John McIntyre bring very different driving pedigrees to the opening round of the national championship at Pukekohe this weekend.

The 31-year-old Booth, who is chasing a hat-trick of V8 championships in a Holden, manages sales of Ferraris and Maseratis for Continental Cars.

McIntyre, who is 28 and was the leading Ford driver last season, sells Land Rovers and Jaguars for Archibald and Shorter.

Booth had a successful career in single-seaters before switching to tin-tops four years ago. He drove Formula Fords in Britain, reaching the world final at Brands Hatch in 1997.

Back in New Zealand, he became the last winner of the New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe, celebrating his victory by spinning his Formula Holden after crossing the finish line.

He was second in the V8 championship at his first attempt in 2001-2, won the title in 2003-4 and retained the crown in April this year, displacing Christchurch driver Wade Henshaw in the final race.

Booth is hungry for more success this season as he drives the same Commodore, but for a new sponsor. His preparation for this weekend suffered a hiccup when the steering rack broke at a testing session last month.

McIntyre has never raced a single-seater, heading straight into saloon cars in his early teens. In recent years he has raced a variety of vehicles, including Tranzams, V8 Supercars, Porsches and V8 utes.

He has always been quick in his Ford Falcon V8 but has lacked the consistency that wins championships. He finished third in the V8 points last season, with his hopes dashed by one poor round.

His Ford has been stripped to bare metal and rebuilt for this season.

The championship, which runs over seven rounds, has been spiced up by the entry of three Australians.

Luke Youlden and Cameron McLean are experienced V8 campaigners, with Youlden fresh from partnering Russell Ingall to fifth place in the Bathurst 1000 Supercar race. McLean, who competed in one meeting here last season, was 18th in the same race.

Shannon O'Brien won the New Zealand Formula Ford title last season and the Queenslander should have a competitive transition to V8s in a Holden prepared by last season's runner-up, Henshaw, who will not be driving this time.

One local to watch will be Kayne Scott, who was fourth in the championship in 2004-5. He drove a Supercar to 11th place at Bathurst and comes to Pukekohe fitter and more focused than ever.

Newcomers include truck star Inky Tulloch, Brent Collins, winner of the inaugural Toyota single-seater series, and Gene Rollinson and Jason Liefting, who form Team Kiwi's development squad.

Other classes racing at Pukekohe will be Porsche GT3s, Porsches, Formula Fords, Toyota single-seaters and Mazda RX7s.

Qualifying starts at 10am today with racing from 2pm. Racing starts at 10am tomorrow.