KEY POINTS:
Having successfully clinched his second consecutive title in March, John McIntyre is now looking towards the NZV8 races at the Hamilton 400 V8 Supercar event.
McIntyre is excited by the prospect of racing on a brand new circuit.
"From everything I've seen, the organisers have done a fantastic job designing this circuit. It looks wide, open and very fast; it's been cleverly done from the start and could become the best street circuit in Australasia."
NZV8s typically race on regular tarmac circuits with wide run-off areas and safety barriers, and McIntyre says it's the first time some of the drivers will have ever raced on a street circuit.
"When this series was known as the TraNZam Lights in the late 1990s, a few of us raced on the Wellington street circuit, so this is the first time we've raced our cars in their current form on a street circuit with fixed concrete barriers, there's no room for error.
"It's great to be part of this V8 Supercar event and race on this brand new track. We want to put on a fantastic show for the fans, we're not taking anything from the V8 Supercar drivers when we say we have our own following and it's great for our category to run at these high-profile events."
McIntyre's championship-winning Ford will be running at Hamilton for the last time in his distinctive colours with Squawking Magpie Wines livery.
"This car's for sale and we've already started work on a new chassis for the 2008-09 New Zealand V8 championship."