Gold Coast driver David Besnard remains in contention for the 2006/2007 New Zealand V8 Championship with a pair of top five finishes from the three races contested during in round four at Manfield race circuit this weekend.
Besnard started the weekend by qualifying in fifth position aboard the #48 Hydraulink Falcon before crossing the line in third position during race one.
Unfortunately for Besnard he was later penalised for a racing incident and received a time penalty dropping his official finishing position to fifth.
Determined to fight back during today’s two races the former Queensland 500 winner drove a calculated race in this morning’s opening 16-lap encounter to cross the line second despite being forced to compete with an engine which was visibly down on horsepower.
“There is a limit to the number of engine changes a team can make during the year and while we knew the engine we had in this weekend was high on race miles it was decided that we’d rather run it like it was than suffer a penalty for changing an engine later in the championship, †said Besnard.
“Unfortunately though the engine was down on more horsepower than what we expected and I struggled to keep pace with the leader as a consequence. â€
However it wasn’t the engine strength that caused anguish in the final race – the reverse-grid 20-lap feature.
Starting from position 24, Besnard cleanly moved up the order to be in amongst the front runners by the half-way mark. Several laps later he was looking to make a pass for third spot before the Hydraulink Falcon slowed with a broken axle.
Due to the damage the Australian was forced to the pit area to watch the remainder of the race from the sidelines.
“I was closing for second, but I would have been just as happy with third. The points I would have received in that race could have been a huge turn-around in the championship, so it’s pretty frustrating, †said Besnard.
“One of the most annoying aspects is that the damage didn’t occur due to a lack of preparation, the team fitted new axles this morning – the team have been so thorough and left no stone unturned.
“We have some positives to come out of the weekend– the team are working really well now after a lot of changes in the past few rounds. We’ve now got really good morale despite the final race result, so I can walk away from here quite happy with what the team achieved. â€
With three rounds remaining in the championship Besnard is now 99 points behind the new series leader, Kayne Scott, in fourth position.
“Kayne Scott will miss part of the next round, and besides with a fresh engine we’ll have the pace again. In some ways I’m enjoying the reverse-grid aspect as it is an opportunity to get big points – just as we nearly did today, †said Besnard.
The next round will be held at Timaru’s Levels raceway on the first weekend of March (2-4) with another round the following weekend in Invercargill.
Parker ENZED NZV8s Championship Round 4 Results Official Qualifying 1, Kayne Scott (Holden) 1:12.968 2, John McIntyre (Ford) 1:13.014 3, Angus Fogg (Ford) 1:13.038 4, Luke Youlden (Ford) 1:13.093 5, David Besnard (Ford) 1:13.131 6, Andy Booth (Holden) 1:13.267 7, Dean Perkins (Ford) 1:13.429 8, Mark Pedersen (Ford) 1:13.595 9, Paul Pedersen (Ford) 1:13.630 10, John Penny (Ford) 1:13.804
Race 1 - 12 laps Top Ten 1, Angus Fogg (Ford) 2, Kayne Scott (Holden) 3, David Besnard (Ford) 4, John McIntyre (Ford) 5, Andy Booth (Holden) 6, Dean Perkins (Ford) 7, Luke Youlden (Ford) 8, John Penny (Ford) 9, Pete Roberts (Ford) 10, Andrew Fawcet (Ford)
Race 2 - 16 laps Top Ten NB. Starting order determined by fastest lap times set in previous day’s race 1, Angus Fogg (Ford) 2, David Besnard (Ford) 3, Kayne Scott (Holden) 4, John McIntyre (Ford) 5, Luke Youlden (Ford) 6, Paul Manuell (Holden) 7, Paul Pedersen (Ford) 8, Nick Ross (Holden) 9, Pete Roberts (Ford) 10, Dean Perkins (Ford)
Race 3 - 20 laps Top Ten NB. Full reverse grid based on championship points earned in weekend’s first two races 1, Mark Pedersen (Ford) 2, Clark Proctor (Ford) 3, Cameron McLean (Ford) 4, Kayne Scott (Holden) 5, John Penny (Ford) 6, Michael Wallace (Holden) 7, Luke Youlden (Ford) 8, Kevin Williams (Holden) 9, Paul Manuell (Holden) 10, Ian Tulloch (Ford) DNF David Besnard (Ford)
Championship Points After 4 of 7 rounds Provisional points after Round 4 1, Kayne Scott 647 2, John McIntyre 635 3, Angus Fogg 623 4, David Besnard 546 5, Clark Proctor 480 6, Luke Youlden 464 7, Dean Perkins 394 8, Andy Booth 373 9, Mark Pedersen 349 10, Paul Manuell 319
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