MANFIELD - ROUND 2

TESTING The team arrived in fielding at the Manfield raceway ready for action on Friday. All the repairs from the Timaru (incl. the replaced customised race shocks) were all made & put to the test on the practice day. Earlier in the week the race truck had taken a visit to ‘NZABC’ in Hamilton to get the brakes fine tuned and what a difference it made. On the track, Malcolm immediately noticed the improvements which allowed him to brake much later going into the corners. In fact Malcolm commented that the whole set-up ‘brakes & suspension’ had never been better & was “very comfortable” to drive. While it wasn’t true racing, Malcolm did have a few duels with Bob Middleton (our closest rival) which it appeared we could reel in 5-6 metres going into the corners which is something we couldn’t do in Timaru. How much of an advantage gain this would make in times couldn’t be gauged until qualifying racing on Saturday but once again things were looking promising.

The BTR Site with Race Truck, Transporter, BTR Coach & some of the team relaxing but ready for action

QUALIFYING

So our first timed test was the practice 20 minute morning session in which we had the 3rd fastest time again behind Andrew Porter & Bob ‘the Builder’ Middleton. The difference surprised us a little, being bigger than expected with a second between Andrew & Bob, & a further second back to us. But that was just testing. Qualifying was a different story but with the same order. While we were still 3rd, there was now only a matter of 0.3 seconds difference by the 3 of us. In other words, you couldn’t get much closer. Unfortunately such a small difference in times still converts to placing's & the points difference. The last action for the day was as always, a non points reverse order start race with the ‘big boys’ at the race circuit. So starting from the 10th in a field of 12, the race was on & Malcolm was on the charge. Working through the field with neither Porter nor Middleton able to make a dent on him. He managed to reel everyone in except for Peter Anderson who started almost one lap ahead meaning a 2nd place finish. Unfortunately it didn’t count for any points but what it did give us was the clearly fastest race time (not qualifying) of all the trucks on the day being over a second faster than Porter.

	If you look carefully you can see some damage from the ‘non-points’ race on Saturday along with the ‘beefed up’ side rub bars which have already been worth their wait!

RACE

Well we woke up to severe rain & very gloomy skies. Far from the ideal race conditions to precisely drive a 5.8 ton race truck around a tight race track as fast as you can, while 11 other 5-6 ton competitors try their best to make it hard for you. Needless to say Malcolm was feeling a little weary about what was to come. The 1st session was supposed to be a 10 minute warm up. After about 5 minutes the session was ‘red flagged’ because it was simply too dangerous with numerous trucks (including ours) leaving the tarmac. Thankfully things improved a little, however the 1st race was still in very wet conditions. The starting order was in the position of qualifying meaning Malcolm started in 3rd. In the wet, the new set-up (including new tyres) of the truck was working excellent as was Malcolm. He was soon up to 2nd & all over the back of Porter who had to do all he could to block Malcolm who was clearly the best performer on the track. Unfortunately that’s how the race ended with a very convincing 2nd place & with most people in no doubt that had Malcolm gotten past Porter, he would have been very hard to have reeled in. The 2nd race was in dry conditions with a reverse grid handicap start. As for Timaru, the handicap gap differences were a big ask to make up. All 3 top super trucks (Porter, Middleton & Malcolm) managed the task although there were some obvious team tactics used. Abernathy blocked Malcolm & deliberately slowed him down & in the process, allowed Middleton to pass when otherwise he wasn’t looking likely too. The end result was Malcolm finishing 3rd behind Bob & Porter. Another exceptional although frustrating result which really should have been a 2nd place finish. Abernathy ended up off the track after a brakes failure supposedly caused from contact made while blocking Malcolm. There were a few words said in the pits & plenty of controversy before the big boys of NZ motorsport were out again for the final points race of the Manfield meeting. Another reverse order rolling start (with the same large handicap gaps) saw the BTR truck again starting 3rd from the back. Once again Porter. Middleton & Malcolm showed the huge differences between them & the rest. They all worked their way through the pack to the top 3 spots with Malcolm again getting the better of Bob who finished 3rd behind Malcolm again in 2nd & Porter again in the all to familiar 1st position. Another great result though with three 2nd place finishes, one 3rd & valuable points for qualifying 3rd too. We finished the weekend on the podium for all races (points & non-points races) with Malcolm & the truck right on the money with their performances. The beefed up bumper & rub bars proved well worth their weights saving the truck from any major damage, with only a few minor scuffs to show for all the action that was encounted. We finished the weekend in 2nd overall for round 2, and moved up the series points table from 5th to 3rd overall. A great result at the Manfield track that highlights the biggest differentials of trucks, due to it having 3 straights at which the trucks can hit their top speed (restricted to 160 kph). Qualifying showed just how close the top 3 are with a very small 0.3 seconds separating us all & proving that all the hard work that’s gone in, is delivering the desired results. Well done to the BTR team & Malcolm and look out for the final round, in the 3 round series in 2 weeks time at Pukekohe, Auckland. As always we’re still looking to improve so “bring it on!” For all those able to join us there, we look forward to putting on a another good display for you.

Malcolm on the Podium	Activity as the trucks line up on the dummy grid

Back to News Page