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The defending champion, Nelson-based John McIntyre, came through three V8 Supercar-style qualifying sessions to take pole position for the opening weekend of the NZ Truth V8s Championship at Pukekohe.
With a time of 1:01.088, McIntyre piloted his BP Ultimate Ford around the Pukekohe circuit over 0.3 of a second faster than closest rival Angus Fogg in the Havoline Ford, but only 0.5 of a second then covered the remaining top eight qualifiers.
The NZ Truth V8s Championship opened at Pukekohe this weekend with the Fujitsu 200 event contested by a talent-filled field of 33 V8s, comprising 20 Fords and 12 Holdens. New qualifying rules see the whole field complete an initial 20 minute qualifying session, then the top 20 go through to a 15 minute session. Only the top ten contest a final 15 minute session to determine the final starting grid.
McIntyre said he only intended to do enough in the first two sessions to get through to the next sector. “We then had a plan for some changes to the car which we felt would make it faster for the final top ten shoot-out,” says McIntyre. “In fact, we were fastest in the first two sessions which was great, then we made those changes and made the car even faster which shows that our off-season plans to develop a better qualifying process have worked. It was great team work all round.”
The NZ Truth V8s contest their first 14-lap race of the weekend late on Saturday afternoon, then two races on Sunday with the third of those races a full reverse grid.
More information about the NZ Truth V8s Championship can found on www.nzv8s.co.nz.
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