Motorsport: Three-pronged New Zealand drive to keep honours at home

Jason Richards will be missing from racing this weekend as he heads to the United States for cancer treatment. Photo / Edge Photographics

There may not be many Kiwis in the hunt for round three of the V8 Supercars series in Hamilton this weekend, but quality is there.

Only three New Zealanders will line up on the grid for the ITM400, as Jason Richards has gone to the United States. He's not there to race, but to take part in a drug trial in an effort to halt the progress of his cancer.

Richards will be sorely missed, not only for his driving skills but also his vivacious approach to life and racing.

However, it could just be the year when the remaining Kiwis, and their teams, tick all the right boxes. If so, it would be the first podium-topping moment since the halcyon days of Greg Murphy owning Pukekohe.

Supersport takes a look at the Kiwi drivers' prospects.

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN

The rising star of V8 Supercars. Ross and Jimmy Stone saw something in the Kiwi when he just 17 and soon had him racing the big bangers on a regular basis. His first full season was 2008 where he continued to improve and started to make a name for himself with his rocket-ship pace and love of wet-weather racing.

At the end of last year, van Gisbergen had definitely proved, with nine podium finishes, that Stone Brothers know talent when they see it.

He managed a fourth and eighth in the opening round this year, however a disappointing 13th and 18th at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide slipped him back to sixth on the table. Van Gisbergen is desperate to win on home soil after finishing third for the round at Phillip Island in Victoria recently.

GREG MURPHY

Despite having a few lean years it would be churlish of any pundit to count out a driver who has proven he can be a frontrunner and on occasions a winner. You don't win four Bathurst 1000s and finish runner up in the championship just on luck alone.

Murphy is a fan favourite and admired for his straight-to-the-point views and can turn it on when needed. After two years with teams that didn't provide him with the best of machinery, he's now with Kelly Racing in a car that should enable him to get back towards the pointy end of the field.

When the New Zealand round of the V8 Supercars was held at Pukekohe, Murphy won an amazing four out of six events and was never off the podium - he will be looking to reassert himself at Hamilton. A good result for Murphy could be coming, after his second place in race three at Phillip Island.

FABIAN COULTHARD

The English-born Kiwi is the highest-placed local driver after two rounds, sitting comfortably in fifth place, just three points behind Alex Davidson. In his first full-time drive with fellow Kiwi Paul Cruickshank's team in 2008, Coulthard showed speed and promise resulting in six top-10 finishes and a year later gained his first podium at Tasmania's Symmons Plains.

Walkinshaw Racing signed him up in 2010 but the team struggled to find any form. This year, however, Coulthard has arrived with a hiss and a roar and will be there or thereabouts in Hamilton. He had two great drives in both the wet and dry at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide coming from midfield in both races to finish inside the top 10.