Motorsport: Kiwi Racing look for new car

Team Kiwi Racing (TKR) have gained a dispensation to miss the next round of the Australian V8 Supercar championship after the Bathurst crash which saw driver Paul Radisich hospitalised on Sunday.

However, the New Zealand-based team still have to find a new car if they are to participate in the last three races of this year's series or face up to A$450,000 ($513,350) in fines for missing them.

The Touring Cars Entrants Group that runs the championship today granted TKR a reprieve for the Lexmark Indy on Queensland's Gold Coast next weekend.

But the team face a A$150,000 fine for each meeting missed after that.

TKR manager David John said he would meet sponsors tomorrow to decide what to do next.

He said options included leasing out the franchise for the remainder of the season or leasing a new car and finding a suitable driver.

Radisich will not drive for the remainder of the season after breaking his sternum and an ankle when the team's Holden Commodore hit a tyre wall at high speed in the Bathurst 1000 race.

John's big problem is that the Commodore Radisich was driving was to be sold and that money used as part-payment for the new Ford Falcon he was having built for next year's series.

"I have been able to pull rabbits out the hat on many occasions over the last six years, but I do not know if there are any more rabbits to be pulled out this time," he said today.

The good news is that Radisich is recovering well from his injuries.

"He is doing well and is due to leave hospital tomorrow morning," John told NZPA.

- NZPA