KEY POINTS:
Twenty-one Fords and 12 Holdens are set to line up on the grid at Pukekohe next weekend for the start of the New Zealand V8 championship.
The highlight will be the return of Paul Radisich, twice world touring car champion and long-time V8 Supercar driver, who is doing a full season in New Zealand for the first time in more than 10 years.
"It's probably been a few years since I've driven on a few of these tracks, but within a handful of laps your memory kicks in," said Radisich. "It's an even playing ground for everybody, so you're coming in to it with no pre-conceived ideas and I expect the competition to be extremely tough.
"That's probably part of the challenge of doing this, that you don't really know what's going to be where or how everybody is going until it starts. It's always the exciting thing about a new championship."
Also in the field are six V8 drivers who recently competed at Bathurst.
Kerry Cooper, chief executive of the MotorSport Company which promotes the series, said: "Take Radisich's entry, plus the return of top Australian drivers like David Besnard, Luke Youlden and Cameron McLean and the cream of New Zealand's best saloon car racers, and this V8 championship is certainly shaping up to be the best yet." There have been a number of changes to the format, which will be in effect from the first round at Pukekohe. The major one is a reduction in the number of rounds from seven, to six individually-branded events.
Each event (or round) has a different sponsor. The opening event at Pukekohe is the Fujitsu 200, the first round in the South Island (November 24-25) is the GT Radials 200 and the season finale at Teretonga is the Hydraulink 200.
The V8 Supercar round becomes a non-championship 'trophy event' on the new Hamilton street circuit, the Hamilton 400.
Each round has three races with 14 laps on Saturday afternoon, 18 on Sunday morning and 22 that afternoon. Qualifying has also been modified. All entrants take part in the first 20-minute qualifying session and the fastest 20 drivers then get another 15-minute session. Finally, the fastest 10 fight it out in a 15-minute shootout session.
Qualifying times determine the start order for race one, while the fastest lap times in the first race determine the start order for race two. The grid for the third race is determined by the points earned in the first two races and it's a reverse grid. All cars will continue to run on controlled Dunlop tyres. The trick will be balancing the desire to set fast qualifying times against having only eight 'slicks' available for the subsequent three races.
Defending champion John McIntyre, who returns with a completely-rebuilt Ford, says he is the best-prepared he has ever been going into a new V8 season. "The usual suspects will be up the front," said McIntyre. "Kayne Scott, Angus Fogg, Besnard, Youlden, Andy Booth, Paul Manuel and Radisich. Booth, in particular, has a very strong engine - stronger than any Ford out there in my opinion - which will make him very quick at Pukekohe."
The first round is at Pukekohe, November 2-4, followed by Ruapuna, November 23-25, Taupo, January 17-20 (also the A1GP round), Manfeild, February 15-17, Timaru, February 29-March 2, Teretonga, March 7-9 and Hamilton, April 18-20 (non championship round).
