15-11-09
2009/10 MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series Rnd 1....

pic

Former series champion Chris Hyde (McRae GM1) was back to his winning best on the first day of competition at the first round of the 2009/10 MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series at Manfeild this afternoon.

Hyde, who won 2007/08 MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series, claimed pole position with the only sub 1 minute five second time in qualifying this morning then ran away with the first race of the weekend late in the afternoon crossing the finishing line after eight quick, incisive laps with a seven-and-a-half second buffer on second placed Sefton Gibb (Lola T332) with another former series champion, Ian Clements (Lola T332) third a further half a second behind.

In the absence of defending series champion, Ken Smith, who returned home last night after cracking a gearbox housing in practice on Friday afternoon, Hyde got a jump on a fast-starting Gibb then eased away as Gibb found himself defending second place from Clements and - early on in the piece - Dunedin's Steve Ross (McRae GM1).

In his first race in the car Chris Hyde used to win the 2007/08 championship, Ross qualified fourth quickest and was part of a three car battle-pack with Gibb and Clements until he left the track at the Dunlop sweeper, his car sustaining damage to its nose cone, radiator and left front suspension.

That elevated Blenheim's Russell Greer (Lola T332) to fourth with Aaron Burson in his hew ex Jay Esterer McRae GM1 fifth, John MacKinlay (March 73A/2) sixth then a mid-pack battle pack of Hamish Paterson (Chevron B32), Peter Burson (McRae GM1) and category newcomer Brett Willis (Lola T330) leading impressive young local driver Tim Rush (Begg FM4) in the first of the Class A (pre 1970) cars.

As Chris Hyde edged away up front, interest mid-race came from the middle of the pack with Aaron Burson slowly closing the gap on Russell Greer, and Brett Willis making up places after a cautious - his first in his new car - start.

Burson briefly got past Greer too, before Greer fought back and Burson ran off the track at Higgins after locking a wheel while in pursuit.

That left Greer in fourth, John MacKinlay having one of his best ever races in the category in fifth and Hamish Paterson sixth.

While son Aaron got himself back on the track his father Peter flashed past to eventually cross the finish line in eighth place with Tim Rush the first of the Class A competitors home in ninth and Aaron Burson tenth.

Afterwards race winner Chris Hyde said everything had gone to plan and admitted that he had 'a wee bit' an pace in hand had either Gibb or Clements got closer.

"But in saying that, I think everyone has, " he said. "It's the first meeting of the year and we all want to get to Melbourne (for the final round of the 2009/10 MSC series at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix meeting). In my case, yes, there is still a bit in the car and in me but as much as anything else today was about looking after the car and all the work Stu (Lush the owner) and the guys have put in to get me here."

And runner-up Sefton Gibb?

He was just glad to be able to start the race after what he described as 'the scariest moment of my motor racing career so far' in qualifying.

"One of the stays on the rear wing broke when I was at maximum speed at the end of the back straight, " he explained. "That folded the wing down towards the ground and the air got under it lifting the whole back end of the car off the ground. I managed to gather it up but when it came down it came down sideways and went one way then the other before I could get it pointing in the right direction again. It was very, very scary and I wouldn't want it to happen again."

Despite the fright, the Napier man drove a fast and calculated race and richly deserved second place.

"The plan," he said," was to tuck in behind Chris (Hyde) at the start and hopefully get the jump on Ian and that, pretty much, is what happened. He (Clements) is a very good driver though and when I missed a gear change towards the end there he made up several car lengths. That's how competitive the class is these days. Miss a gear and you could lose a place!"

MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series newcomer Brett Willis admitted to a couple of missed downshifts himself. But he had a smile a mile wide on his face afterwards and reckoned buying a rare Lola T330 and having it rebuilt for the series was the best thing he has ever done.

"I'm really enjoying it," he said of the crowd-pleasing MSC Revival series."I've always been drawn to these cars and the plan is to improve with each race. It's always nice to pass the odd car or two though and I'm looking forward to the rest of the meeting and season."

As is local driver Tim Rush, whose move to the MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series last season was something of a leap of faith. "Before I drove this," he said of the ex David Oxton Begg FM4 he and his family own," the only cars I'd raced were a Morris Minor and a Chevron. It's definitely been a steep learning curve but I'm really enjoying it and to win my class today was just fantastic!"

Action at the annual MG Classic meeting at Manfeild, where the MSC F5000 cars are the star attraction, continues on Sunday with a second race in the morning and a third and final in the afternoon.

The MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is organised and run with the support of sponsors MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney's Specialized Bulk Transport, Pacifica, Toll Holdings, Smith & Davies, Avon Tyres and Exide

Qualifying
1. Chris Hyde (ChCh McRae GM1) 1.04.55
2. Ian Clements (ChCh, Lola T332) 1.05.26
3. Sefton Gibb (Napier, Lola T332) 1.05.59
4. Steve Ross (Dunedin,McRae GM1) 1.06.04
5. Russell Greer (Blenheim, Lola T332) 1.07.98
6. John Mackinlay (Auckland, March 73A/2) 1.09.62
7. Hamish Paterson (Auckland, Chevron B32) 1.09.71
8. Aaron Burson (Auckland, McRae GM1) 1.10.24
9. Tim Rush (Feilding, Begg FM4) 1.10.74
10. Peter Burson (Auckland, McRae GM1) 1.11.30
11. Brett Willis (Rotorua, Lola T330) 1.11.31
12. Frank Karl (Auckland, RFX 5000) 1.11.62
13. Poul Christie (Auckland, Lola T190) 1.11.65
14. Kerry McIntosh (Auckland, Lola T142) 1.18.14
15. Kerry Anderson (Auckland, Lola T142) 1.18.14

Race 1 (8 laps)
1. Chris Hyde 8m47.23
2. Sefton Gibb +7.32
3. Ian Clements +7.59
4. Russell Greer +24.53
5. John MacKinlay +33.95
6. Brett Willis +42.79
7. Hamish Paterson +45.03
8. Peter Burson +47.05
9. Tim Rush +56.60
10. Aaron Burson +56.85
11. Poul Christie + 66.86
12. Kerry McIntosh +68.98
13. Kerry Anderson +1 lap
DNF: Steve Ross +5 laps, Frank Karl +7 laps

Sunday - 15th November

The Bruce McLaren Trophy is back in Christchurch driver Chris Hyde's hands after another winning performance at the opening round of the 2009/10 MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series at the annual MG Classic motor racing meeting at Manfeild over the weekend.

Hyde, who won the MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series in 2008 before taking a sabbatical in 2009, won the Bruce McLaren trophy for the first time at the MG Classic meeting at Manfield in 2007. And he won it for a second time by completing a three race MSC series clean-sweep in the 12-lap feature final at the MG Classic meeting at Manfeild on Sunday.

Having set the quickest lap time in qualifying on Saturday morning then won the first race of the weekend on Saturday afternoon and the second on Sunday morning, Hyde could hardly have had a better start to his 2009/10 campaign. And for that he was quick to thank car owner, series stalwart Stu Lush and his Auckland-based team.

"Really, " he said, " I'm just the guy lucky enough to be under the helmet. Stu, Grant and the boys have put so much time and effort into the car and this campaign, it's as much a win for them as it is for me."

Second in the Bruce McLaren Trophy feature was Sefton Gibb (Lola T332), the Napier man and his crew members winning a battle against time to replace a half shaft which broke in the sprint race on Sunday morning.

Also forced to strip and rebuild his car's transaxle between Sunday's races was second quickest qualifier and former MSC series champion Ian Clements (Lola T332) after he lost the use of second gear - coincidentally while he was disputing second place with Gibb - in the second race.

In the absence of defending MSC series champion, Ken Smith, who returned to Auckland after cracking a gearbox housing in practice on Friday, it was Gibb, Dunedin driver Steve Ross (McRae GM1) and Clements who provided Hyde with his closest competition over the weekend.

Clements qualifying second quickest and finishing third in the first and second races and fourth in the third; Ross qualified fourth and came back from a dnf (did not finish) in the first race to finish second on Sunday morning and third in the afternoon, while Gibb qualified third and bracketed a dnf of his own in the second race with second place finishes in the first and final races.

A clear, and very popular, winner of the Class A category for earlier model cars was Tim Rush, the Feilding local, in only his second season in the MSC series, splitting the later model Class B McRae GM1s of Aaron and Peter Burson in qualifying and ending up with a stand-out sixth place in the final.

"Unbelievable," he said as he was surrounded by well-wishers after that race. " What an amazing race and a fantastic way to finish the weekend."

Action-wise the three races followed a similar pattern, with Hyde getting the jump on Gibb, Clements and Ross at the start with series newcomer Brett Willis (Lola T330) and Auckland drivers John Mackinlay (March 73A/2) and Aaron Burson (McRae GM1) taking a watching brief.

There was also added drama in the final when the Safety Car was deployed late in the race so that Aaron Burson's car could be removed from the gravel trap at the end of the start/finish straight.

That bunched the field up behind race leader Chris Hyde and when the Safety Car returned to the pits the race ended with Hyde leading a closely following Gibb - who set the fastest race lap - Ross, Clements and Willis.

Tim Rush was a weekend-best sixth overall after a daring move around Kerry Anderson (Lola T142) - who was being lapped - and Peter Burson.

Burson had been leading Rush up until that point but was powerless to do anything about the quick-thinking Rush as he was forced to follow Anderson through the infield as Rush made the most of the advantage.

Of the other drivers, for someone who has not raced seriously for over ten years, Rotorua man Brett Willis had a dream MSC series debut, getting quicker and more competitive with each race.

Blenheim's Russell Greer (Lola T332) was part of the battlepack on Saturday and Sunday morning but had to sit the final race out after clutch problems slowed him in the second.

John Mackinlay and Aaron Burson were also quick early on only to strike problems, Mackinlay struggling with and eventually pulling out of the final with fuel starvation problems and Burson locking a front wheel and slipping off the track without damage ('apart from my pride,' he quipped after the final) in the first and third races and accidentally knocking a fuel pump switch off in the second.

Finally while young gun Tim Rush was claiming most of the limelight in the Class A category, long-time class and series supporter Poul Christie (Lola T190) was enjoying the added competition, finishing a meeting-best eighth overall in the final behind Rush and Burson Snr but in front of Hamish Paterson (Chevron B32), Kerry McIntosh (Begg FM2) and Kerry Anderson.

The 14-strong MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series field was given top billing at the 24th annual MG Classic meeting at Manfeild with support from the Central Muscle Car, BMW Series and Pre-65 classes.

The meeting was held in unseasonably cool, windy conditions with the rain which had been threatening all weekend finally materializing on Sunday afternoon.

Fortunately for the MSC F5000 series drivers the light showers which dusted the circuit just after lunch blew out and the heavier showers which saw the last Central Muscle Cars' race red flagged started as the MSC cars completed their cool down lap.

The MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is organised and run with the support of sponsors MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney's Specialized Bulk Transport, Pacifica, Toll Holdings, Smith & Davies, Avon Tyres and Exide.

The next round will be part of the annual Lady Wigram Trophy meeting at Christchurch's Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park over the January 10-10 2010 weekend.

Race 1 (8 laps)
1. Chris Hyde 8m47.23
2. Sefton Gibb +7.32
3. Ian Clements +7.59
4. Russell Greer +24.53
5. John Mackinlay +33.95
6. Brett Willis +42.79
7. Hamish Paterson +45.03
8. Peter Burson +47.05
9. Tim Rush +56.60
10. Aaron Burson +56.85
11. Poul Christie + 66.86
12. Kerry McIntosh +68.98
13. Kerry Anderson +1 lap
DNF: Steve Ross +5 laps, Frank Karl +7 laps

Race 2 (6 laps)
1. Chris Hyde 8.51.17
2. Steve Ross +5.19
3. Ian Clements +11.80
4. Russell Greer +26.72
5. Brett Willis +27.00
6. John Mackinlay +32.20
7. Peter Burson +37.54
8. Tim Rush +38.70
9. Aaron Burson +51.54
10. Poul Christie +52.40
11. Kerry McIntosh 53.10
12. Hamish Paterson +57.88
13. Frank Karl +1 lap

Race 3 (12 laps)
1. Chris Hyde 15.16.51
2. Sefton Gibb +1.40
3. Steve Ross +2.65
4. Ian Clements +2.90
5. Brett Willis +6.31
6. Tim Rush +13.02
7. Peter Burson +18.13
8. Poul Christie +18.74
9. Hamish Paterson +19.49
10. Kerry McIntosh +21.56
11. Frank Karl +23.50
12. Kerry Anderson +1 lap

CALENDAR
Rnd 1: November 14-15 2009 MG Classic meeting Manfeild Feilding
Rnd 2: January 08-10 2010 Lady Wigram Trophy meeting Powerbuilt Tools Raceway @ Ruapuna Park Christchurch
Rnd 3: January 22-24 2010 NZ Festival of Motor Racing - celebrating Bruce McLaren Hampton Downs north Waikato
Rnd 4: January 29-31 2010 NZ Festival of Motor Racing - celebrating Bruce McLaren Pukekohe Park Raceway Pukekohe
Rnd 5: March 19-21 2010 VHRR Phillip Island Classic meeting Phillip Island Australia
Rnd 6: Mar 25-28 2010 FORMULA 1™ Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Melbourne Aust