Contenders Line Up in BNT V8s

It will be anyone’s title when the BNT V8s Championship gets underway this weekend at Pukekohe for the ITM V8 Supersprint.

With plenty of returning faces, there are a number of new drivers looking to make their debut in the championship.

Championship veteran Nick Ross and his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima return again for the 2018/19 season, the Cambridge drivers 16th consecutive season in the championship.

The Nissan driver finished third last season and will be looking to add another title to his 2013/14 Championship win.

Also coming into the new season as a Championship favourite will be Australian Jack Smith in his Supercheap Auto Holden Commodore. The 19-year old won the Class One rookie title scooping a number of podiums and a win along the way last season.

Smith will race along his teammate and car owner Lance Hughes in his Hamilton Asphalts Holden Commodore.

Graduating from Class Two, Chelsea Herbert makes the step into Class One aboard the Championship winning Toyota Camry driven by Andre Heimgartner last season.

She is joined in another Camry in the Richards Team Motorsport stable by newcomer, 21-Year old Brenton Grove from Australia who is a regular competitor in the second tier Australian Super 2 Championship. The third Toyota Camry will be driven by another Australian, Scott Taylor.

Also stepping up to Class One will be Rob Wallace aboard the ex Greg Murphy SuperTourer. The Tauranga racer will be taking a cautious approach to the opening rounds as he gets to grips with the more powerful Class One car.

Matt Tubbs returns and will be looking to build on his rookie season from last year. He will campaign the Holden Commodore, which Nick Ross won his championship title in.

Having raced in Class Two for a number of seasons, Brad Lathrope made the step up to Class One last season in what was a part campaign. This year he will look to compete in all six rounds in his Ford Falcon SuperTourer.

Class Two of the championship looks to be a tight battle again. 2017/18 Rookie of the year Brock Timperley returns and will be looking to win at Pukekohe this weekend.

He’ll be chased by the Ford Falcon of Matt Podjursky from Taranaki who will compete in the full Championship this year having run a part campaign last season.

Justin Ashwell from Christchurch makes a return and will be looking for more regular finishes, having been plagued by an electrical issue in his Digga Ford Falcon for most of the season.

Matthew Clark in a Holden Commodore also makes a return to the Championship after a number of seasons out of the seat.

Class Three will see regulars Nigel Karl and Tony Anderson line up in their Ford Falcons as well as John De Veth in his Holden Commodore.

Todd Murphy returns in his Hyundai i45 SuperTourer and Darryl Clarke lines up in his newly purchased Ford Falcon.

The Class Three grid will be rounded out by Matt Griffin and Kent Baigent in their BMW’s.

The BNT V8s will have one 16-lap race on Saturday followed by two 16-lap outings on Sunday.

Entries

Car #	Driver Name	Class	Make/Model
*007	Nick Ross	1	Nissan Altima
10	Brenton Grove	1	Toyota Camry
42	Matt Tubbs	1	Holden Commodore
51	Rob Wallace	1	Holden Commodore
62	Chelsea Herbert	1	Toyota Camry
73	Brad Lathrope	1	Ford Falcon ST
84	Lance Hughes	1	Holden Commodore
85	Jack Smith	1	Holden Commodore
222	Scott Taylor	1	Toyota Camry
11	Justin Ashwell	2	Ford Falcon TL
59	Brock Timperley	2	Ford Falcon
77	Matt Podjursky	2	Ford Falcon TL
80	Mathew Clark	2	Holden Commodore
15	Kent Baigent	3	BMW M3 E92
17	Todd Murphy	3	Hyundai i45 SuperTourer
23	John De Veth	3	Holden Commodore
32	Tony Anderson	3	Ford Falcon BA
54	Darryl Clarke	3	Ford Falcon
171	Nigel Karl	3	Ford Falcon
177	Matt Griffin	3	BMW GTR E46

 

Caption: The BNT V8s get underway this weekend at Pukekohe for Round One of the Championship.

Release: BNT V8s