Photo: Ben EricksonA further increase in competitive intensity is expected as Suzuki Swift Sport Cup competitors head to this weekend’s (21 – 23 January) fourth round of the series descend on Timaru for a three-race programme.
The previous weekend’s racing in Invercargill up-ended the leader-board in the one-make class, and new championship leader Dane Fisher says South Canterbury fans are sure to see plenty of excellent racing and overtaking action from the 17-strong field of identical Suzuki race cars.
“Really, the only passing for the weekend is going to be seen in this class,” said Fisher, who only took the series lead after Sunday’s final reverse-grid race in the 1600cc car category. “It’s tight turning in off the back-straight, which is unsettling in these cars. Then the in-field is like a go-kart track – as we’re low-speed coming out of the corners. So it’s tricky too, but I feel comfortable there so am looking forward to it.”
After three of the six rounds on the 2010/11 championship calendar, Fisher’s total of 539 points is only three ahead of second-placed Mike Turley. With 40 points separating the top four on the points table, Suzuki Swift Sporting Cup series co-ordinator Paul Burborough says this weekend’s racing is sure to be just as intense.
“Now we’re past the half-way mark the field is starting to get more competitive. We’re just as likely to see the rookie driver as some of our more seasoned competitors come through to win races. That’s now clear in the points table with the series pretty wide open at this point.”
Suzuki New Zealand motorsport manager Darren Stevens echoed the comments, adding the three different race winners from Teretonga are evidence of how competitive the series is.
“While Dane Fisher has won a race already this season, the second race win by Ben Erickson was result of fantastic team-work and it was great to see Shaun Lawrence get a win after some tough moments earlier. So we’d be reasonable in expecting a similar sharing of the spoils again this weekend at Timaru. It’s also a home weekend for Daniel Liemburg in his Challenge Fuels Suzuki. He had an up-and-down weekend at Teretonga, so he could be worth a second look at a circuit he knows a lot better.”
With the opportunity to test on the Thursday, competitors then get two sessions on Friday to fine-tune their car’s handling for the weekend. Qualifying on the Saturday morning sets the grid for the afternoon 10-lap race, which determines Sunday morning’s 10-lap race start order. The combined results are reversed to determine the starting order for the final 12-lap race that starts at 2:30pm.
Suzuki Swift Sporting Cup points – after round three of six.
Pos Name Hometown Total
1,Dane Fisher,Auckland,539
2,Mike Turley,Auckland,536
3,A.J. Lauder,Turua,505
4,Grant Ryan,Lower Hutt,499
5,Shaun Lawrence,Hamilton,404
6,Marc Spring,Auckland,388
7,Jamie Gaskin,Upper Hutt,384
8,Mark Gibson,Taupo,380
9,Rex McCutcheon,Waiuku,375
10,Chris Cox,Rangiora,350
11,Tom Barker,Christchurch,313
12,Rob Gibson,Taupo,298
13,Sam Barry,Takapau,295
14,Amy Vincent,Papakura,268
15,Brad Lauder,Turua,223
16,Daniel Liemburg,Timaru,188
17,Ben Erickson,Christchurch,183
18,Allan Jarvis,Brisbane,151
19,Ryan Bailey,Auckland,135
