Records fall and so does the rain as the V8 Utes race at Timaru

In a dominant performance at Levels Raceway, Timaru, Glen Collinson not only won all three UDC V8 Utes races of ‘Trust Aoraki Thunder Down Under’. He sprinted to a new lap record on Sunday morning – resetting the time set by Blair Gribble Bowring just a day before. And the record Blair had beaten had been set way back in 2010 by former NZ V8 Utes champion & V8 Supercar driver Chris Pither. What a weekend.

It had been around ten years since the UDC V8 Utes last raced at Timaru and it was worth the wait. After Qualifying second, Glen Collinson quickly took control of Race One on Saturday ahead of Brad Kroef and Blair Gribble-Bowring, all driving Ford utes.

Race Two on Sunday morning was a reverse-grid format and Glen’s win the day before meant he started plumb last. Yet he managed to overtake the entire field before eventually slotting into first late in the race – and re-setting the lap record along the way. Just behind him, yesterday’s record-breaker Blair Gribble-Bowring carved a way through the traffic from ninth to second place. The race was also a welcome return to the podium for Paul Fougere who managed to pilot the first Holden home to third – just to keep the two Fords company. Stuart Monteith didn’t have such a good outing, blowing a diff on lap 3 and limping out of the race

Race Three on Sunday afternoon began under menacing grey skies on a damp track. Yet just a few laps in, the rain came down. Lots of it.

Glen Collinson started the race up front, with Blair Gribble Bowring alongside. It didn’t take him long to get away from the field, gaining a second or two a lap in another emphatic driving display.

All utes were running the control Yokohama tyre – which performs admirably in the dry; less so in the wet. So when the deluge came down, so did the lap times. Gribble-Bowring was the first casualty sliding off the track mid-race into the kitty litter prompting a safety car.

When action resumed, Phill Ross started his charge through the bunched-up field. After starting seventh, Phill picked his way through the midfield to finish a creditable second place. Geoff Spencer managed to keep a cool head and hung onto third after starting fourth. Yet the overtaking award must go to Daniel Ludlam – up to fourth place having started tenth.

So after a weekend of record-breaking performances and warm southern hospitality, Glen Collinson wrapped up the weekend winning three races, winning the round, a lap record and further extended his lead in the UDC V8 Utes series. Not a bad outing.

The utes now take an extended break before heading to Teretonga for the weekend of 14th-16th March.