Darfield's Damon Summerfield, Hamilton's Brett Killip and soon to be Timaru resident Callum Taylor head to Timaru's Timaru International Raceway this weekend locked in a classic North Island versus South Island battle for the 2007/08 Pacifica Shipping New Zealand Pro 7 Championship title.
This weekend's Super Truck meeting at the Timaru International Motor Raceway hosts the second round (of four) of the 2007/08 Pacifica Shipping New Zealand Pro 7 Championship as part of the overall Mazda RX7-based Toyo Tyres Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus motor racing series.
South Island drivers have traditionally done well in the long-running series and though Christchurch'd Eddie Bell is not defending his 2006/07 title the baton, it would appear, has been passed to the younger of the two Summerfield brothers, Damon.
The Darfield man won two of the three Pro 7 (for 12A rotary-engined Series 1 model Mazda RX7s) races at the first round of the Pacifica Shipping New Zealand championship meeting at Christchurch's Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park last weekend, beating 2007/08 title favourite and reigning Toyo Tyres North Island Pro 7 champion Brett Killip and 2007/08 Toyo Tyres North Island category points leader Phil Blythe.
That means the favourite status moves to Damon Summerfield with former Havelock North but now Timaru-based Callum Taylor joining Killip and Blythe on the 'don't discount' list. Taylor's car is already based in Timaru and the young driver made his presence felt at last weekend's Christchurch round with a second in the reverse top 10 grid second race and third in the final.
Meanwhile in the Toyo Tyres Pro 7 Plus category ( for later model non-turbo 13B rotary-engined Series 4 and 6 cars) defending North Island champion Andy Duffin remains the man to beat despite being pipped by Rangiora's Shane Paget in qualifying and winning only one of the three category races at Christchurch last weekend.
After four rounds of the North Island championship (which this season incorporates two 'away' rounds in the South Island) Duffin heads to Timaru with 338 points, 38 more than arch-rival, Aucklander Bruce Gay.
Gay won the second reverse top 10 grid race at Christchurch from Paget and Elton Wichman, and finished third behind either Duffin and Paget (race 1) or Paget and Duffin (race 3) in the other two.
This weekend is the first in which local fans can see the newer Series 4 & 6 model Mazda RX7 models race and the organisers of the Toyo Tyres Pro 7 series hope that other South Island drivers will follow Shane Paget's lead and build and run Pro 7 Plus category cars to supplement the original Series 1 Pro 7s.
The Toyo Tyres Pro 7 Plus and Pacifica Shipping New Zealand Pro 7 Championship Pro 7s head a support roster at the annual Super Truck meeting this weekend . Also on the programme are races for OSCAs, Sports Saloons, Super 6 Saloons and BMWs.
2007/08 Toyo Tyres Pro 7 Racing
Pacifica Shipping NZ Pro 7 Championship
Points after Rnd 1 of 4
1. Damon Summefield (Darfield) 57 points
2=. Brett Killip (Hamilton) 52
2=. Callum Taylor (Havelock North) 52
4. Phil Blythe (Wanganui) 51
5=. Mark Elliott (Christchurch) 45
5=. Anton Summerfield (Darfield) 45
Toyo Tyres North Island Pro 7 Plus championship
Points after Rnd 4 of 8
1. Andy Duffin (Pukekohe) 338 point
2. Bruce Gay (Auckland) 300
3. Elton Wichman (Auckland) 278
4. Shane Paget (Rangiora) 240
5. Aaron Prosser (Paraparaumu) 236
6. Bob Smith (Wanganui) 228
