KEY POINTS:
A five-round race series for Holden and Ford V8 utes is set to kick off in New Zealand next year - if organisers can assemble the minimum field of 16 entrants.
"At the moment it's looking good," says series manager and motorsport promoter Jamie Kett.
"We have already got cheques from eight confirmed starters and we have another 26 starters on the cards - that's before we start officially selling the packages next week.
The series will be run by a new company, NZV8 Ute Racing, and is based on the Australian V8 Ute Racing category, launched in March 2001 at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and now a favourite with motorsport fans.
It is second only to the V8 Supercars in both television audiences and spectator attendances across the Tasman. "We will copy the Aussie series absolutely, certainly as much as possible," says Kett.
"Critically, we need to avoid the temptation to add in that little bit of Kiwi 'ingenuity' that can stuff up a perfectly good formula."
The fields across the Tasman are made up of 16 identical Ford XR8 V8s and 16 Holden SS Commodores, each purpose-built production models with limited modifications.
The New Zealand series also has a maximum limit of 32 - but Kett will settle for 16 to get it under way.
"We set the minimum limit at 16 ourselves. It doesn't look good to have fewer than 16 cars on the grid. Twenty-four would be a healthy grid. We have to be entertaining - at the end of the day it's not about us, it's about guys getting out there and having fun."
Most of the confirmed and potential starters for the local series are home-grown motorsport campaigners. A sprinkling of celebrity drivers like moneyman Mike Pero and world motorcycle champion Aaron Slight will add spice.
"We've also got interest from past champions who are keen to team up with current sports names, making it a real mixture of talents," says Kett.
The races will be a stand-alone category, packaged for television and joined by support events. Kett expects to fly to Australia next month to officially launch the series to Australian motorsport organisers.
Ford's Les Small and Holden's James Brock will then each start building eight utes for the 16-car field. The vehicles are due here around Christmas. Further race utes will be built in batches of four.
Each car gets upgraded packages for the drive train, brakes, exhaust, wheels, and tyres.
The aim is for an under-stressed package that can perform for a full season with very little maintenance.
But what happens if the organisers can't get 16 entrants? "We will go back and talk to the original eight," says Kett. "They have all said that if needs be they will buy two cars to get the series under way. I don't expect we will have a problem."
The first race is down for Manfeild next February, followed by plans for Timaru, Ruapuna, and Taupo and a grand final back at Manfeild in June.
* To get things under way, each of the 16 starters has to stump up $15,000, for the grid registration and a share of NZV8 Ute Racing Ltd. Each ute is expected to cost between $A75,000 ($83,000) and $A85,000.
