Teretonga - Classic Speed Fest 2009

CLASSIC SPEEDFEST PRODUCES GREAT RACING IN THE RAIN



While the racing was still of the highest quality rain meant a wet, slippery track throughout the entire two days of racing at the Leitch Motorsport/Southland Times Classic SpeedFest at Teretonga Park in Invercargill this weekend.



The event celebrated two major themes this year - Historic Touring Cars and 50 Year's Of the Mini.



Angus Fogg of Auckland, a current frontrunner in the NZV8s Championship, gave a masterful display to win the first Southland Times Mini race on Saturday afternoon. The races were split into two sections with the Mini 7 South competitors starting at the front of the field and the Classic Mini's behind. Fogg began at the rear of the Classic field and carved his way past everyone in an impressive display. Many of his passing manoeuvres took place around the outside at the high-speed loop in the slippery conditions. Fogg took a twenty second victory from Mini 7 South competitors, Wayne Timms and Gary Johnstone of Canterbury, with Peter Scobie of Dunedin second in the Classic Section and fourth overall.



On Sunday morning Fogg was one of three cars penalised thirty seconds for passing under yellow flags, robbing him of another win and dropping him to ninth overall. Timms was left to take another victory from fellow Mini 7 South competitors Mark Donaldson of Hanmer Springs and Scott Paterson of Christchurch. The best of the Classic Minis was Tuatapere's Doug Erskine in fifth place ahead of Scobie and Fogg. In the third and final race Timms beat Fogg home by .16 of a second in a drag race to the line after Fogg was baulked late in the race by a spinning car. Donaldson, Doug Drake and Michael Pelling were next, all in Mini 7's.



Dunedin driver Arron Black took victory in three of the four Evolution Motorsport Touring Car races in an ex-Andy Rouse Toyota Carina. Kevin Underwood of Auckland (BMW M3) won the final race from Black late on Sunday afternoon to complement the two second placings and the third he had gained in the earlier races. Black led the final race until the late stages when the car appeared to strike a problem. Allan Dippie was the other placegetter over the course of the weekend, finishing second to Black on Saturday afternoon before going on to three third placings in Sunday's races in the ex-Denny Hulme Rover Vitesse. The Touring Car races featured some exciting cars with several BMW's, the Rover, a Jaguar XJS plus an Alfa and a Commodore.



Canadian Jack Ondrack won all four Ray White Real Estate Classic Saloon Car races. Ondrack took his 5.4 litre TVR Tuscan to an easy win in the first race and then recovered from a first lap spin in the second race to take the lead at the final corner of the race. In the first race on Sunday he copped a thirty second penalty for passing under the yellow flag but still had a big enough margin to take victory. Fogg also drove impressively in this class to take two second and two third placings while John Osborne of Christchurch secured

two second placings on Sunday in his Nissan Fairlady. Dale Chapman of Christchurch in his Fiat X1/9 Abarth and Brendan Mason of Invercargill in his Chev Camaro took the other third placings.



Ondrack also dominated in the Turntru Machining Sports Car races, winning the first race on Saturday afternoon after coming from the back of the grid to lead across the line from Robert Stewart in a Porsche RS IROC 911 and early leader, former Invercargill man Ross Nicol in his Ford GT40 Replica. That result was repeated later that afternoon and again in Sunday's final race. The only time the sequence was broken was when Ondrack failed to finish Sunday morning's race. Stewart took victory in the Porsche on that occasion from Nicol with Chris Chiles gaining a third in his Lotus Elan.



Queenstown driver Munro Tall qualified fastest and won both of Saturday's races in the Clive Wilson Computers Racing Car Class. Tall did not race on Sunday and sixteen-year-old New Zealand Formula Ford Championship ace, Damon Leitch of Invercargill, won both of the day's races convincingly. Leitch had brought his smaller engined Van Diemen RF87 into second behind Tall in both of Saturday's races. Christchurch driver John Williams scored two third placings on Saturday in his Crossle FF2000 and a second on Sunday while Canadian Jay Esterer gained a second and third on Sunday with Hamish Mosley of Balclutha taking third place in the final race.



A fantastic line-up of cars dating from the 1930's through until 1968 contested the Allied Petroleum Vintage Car races. Graeme Hamilton of Lyttelton won the first race of the weekend in his 1958 ACE III from Martin Dippie of Dunedin in an Austin Healey with George Kear of Christchurch in a KATO Special third by the narrowest of margins. Hamilton took no part in Sunday's races leaving Kear to take two wins. On both occasions he greeted the flag ahead of Dippie with Paul Tayler of Christchurch in a Mistral and Chris Read of Dunedin in another Mistral sharing the third placings.



Invercargill driver Scott O'Donnell dominated the Noel McIntyre Drainage Clubmans Series races in his new Porsche GT3 RSR. He won all four races with Robert Stewart of Christchurch filling second place on three occasions in his Porsche RS IROC 911. Anthony Ralston of Invercargill took second on the other occasion while Brent Cross of Winton took two third placings. Brendan Mason and Shane Wigston of Rotorua in his 5.7 litre HQ Holden took a third place apiece.



Unfortunately the weather meant there could be no demonstration runs by the PDL Mustang 2 during the event while the McLaren M23 Formula 1 car of Phil Mauger also could not run.



The final meeting of the season at Teretonga Park takes place over the weekend of 21/22 March and will feature several classes including the ENZED V8 Ute Series and the opening round of the South Island Endurance Series.



Lindsay Beer

Publicity Officer

Southland Sports Car Club