Dunedin driver Steve Ross (McRae GM1) gets his turn in the spotlight this weekend as the Canterbury Car Club's annual Skope Classic meeting hosts the penultimate round of this season's MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series.
While rivals Ken Smith (Lola T430), the defending series champion, this season's Lady Wigram Trophy winner, Canadian Jay Esterer (McRae GM1), and recent Hampton Downs rounds winner Michael Lyons (Lola T400), have dominated the headlines so far this season, Ross has been a picture of consistency - and heads north to the Skope Classic meeting with an unbeatable lead in the 2011/12 series points standings on the strength of the fact.
The lead - and champion-elect status - is just reward for the earth-moving contractor from the southern city who finished 22nd in his first season in the popular New Zealand-based MSC series driving a Class A Lola T142 in the 2009 then second behind Ken Smith once he graduated to a later model McRae GM1 in 2010 and 2011.
When the MSC series visited Christchurch's Powerbuilt Tools Raceway @ Ruapuna Park for the first time this season for the Lady Wigram Trophy meeting in November last year, Ross qualified quickest but was beaten to the line in the races by Esterer and Smith.
The tenor of the season changed at the second round at the MG Classic meeting at Manfeild a week later, however, with pole sitter and race one winner Smith tangling with Esterer off the line at the start of the second race (which was subsequently cancelled) and Ross winning the third in their absence.
Young British driver Michael Lyons (Lola T400) has since dominated the third and fourth rounds of the MSC series at the two NZ Festival of Motor Racing - celebrating BMW Motorsport meetings at Hampton Downs but Ross has never been far behind and at the first round beat Lyons to a new outright track lap record.
Lyons subsequently lowered that at the second meeting but having missed the first two rounds the 21-year-old who competes in the MSC series with his father Frank (Gurney-Eagle) and mother Judy (Lola T332) is not in the hunt for outright series victory.
Nor, after their accident, are Smith - who is not travelling south for this weekend's meeting - or Esterer, who has had problems with the backup car (another McRae GM1) he flew out for the remaining rounds of the MSC series.
This leaves another McRae GM1 driver, Aucklander Aaron Burson, second in the points standings heading into this weekend's meeting, with Rotorua's Brett Willis (Lola T330) third and Christchurch's own David Arrowsmith, enjoying a dream series debut in his older Class A-spec Lotus 70), in fourth.
Supplementing the regular New Zealand-based drivers and cars at the Skope Classic meeting this weekend is a four-strong group of F5000 enthusiasts from the United States, led by US F5000 Drivers' Association president Seb Coppola (Lola T192) and including Harin de Silva (Surtees TS8), Scott Drnek (Lola T400) and the only category original in the world competing in the same car he raced back in the 1970s, Eric Haga (Lola T190).
Haga's car sustained some damage after a collision in the final race at Hampton Downs last weekend but members of the local F5000 Association rallied together and father and son pair Paul and Alan Dunkley (who ran their own Lola T140 for the first time at the two Hampton Downs meetings) repaired the tub and suspension in time for the car to be transported to Christchurch for this weekend's meeting.
The Americans are supplementing the usual influx of UK drivers who support the MSC series; Frank, Judy and Michael Lyons, Mark Dwyer (Lola T400), Greg Thornton (Chevron B24) and Michael Whatley (Surtees TS8), plus Australians John Bryant (Lola T140) and Chris Lambden (McRae GM1).
This weekend's meeting will also see the return to the series of Napier driver Sefton Gibb and Christchurch drivers Ian Clements, Stan Redmond and Tony Richards (all Lola T332), as well as Lindsay O'Donnell (Begg FM5) and Phil Mauger (McLaren M23 F1).
Practice for the weekend's races is on today (Friday) with qualifying and the first of three Mobil 1-backed races for the MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series cars over eight laps on Saturday afternoon and two more on Sunday, another 8-lapper in the morning and a final 12-lap feature in the afternoon.
After this weekend's meeting there is then a break of just over a month before the final round of the 2011/12 series which this year will be contested at Australia's biennial Phillip Island Classic meeting at the Phillip Island circuit south of Melbourne.
The MSC F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series is organised and run with the support of sponsors MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney's Specialized Bulk Transport, Mobil Lubricants, Pacifica, Smith & Davies, Avon Tyres and Exide. The series continues next weekend at the annual Skope Classic meeting at Christchurch's Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park.
2011/12 MSC New Zealand F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series
Points after Rnd 4 of 6
1. Steve Ross (McRae GM1) 366 points
2. Aaron Burson (McRae GM1) 291
3. Brett Willis (Lola T330) 247
4. Dave Arrowsmith (Lotus 70) 245
5. Ken Smith (Lola T332/T430) 231
6. Michael Lyons (Lola T400) 208
7. Mark Dwyer (Lola T400) 179
8. John MacKinlay (March 73/A) 178
9. Greg Thornton (Chevron B24) 177
10. David Banks (Talon MR1) 176
11. Frank Lyons (Gurney-Eagle) 169
12. Peter Burson (McRae GM1) 166
13. Jay Esterer (McRae GM1) 153
14. Russell Greer (Lola T332) 138
15. Roger Williams (Lola T332) 137
16. Shayne Windelburn (Lola T400) 136
17. Sefton Gibb (Lola T332) 131
18. Tim Rush (McLaren M22) 124
19. Alan Dunkley (Lola T140) 108
20. Stu Lush (McRae GM1) 107
21. Mike Whatley (Lola T300/Surtees TS8) 99
22. Clark Proctor (March 73A) 93
23. Tony Richards (Lola T332) 87
24. John Bryant (Lola T140) 73
25. Andrew Higgins (Lola T400) 63
26. David Abbott (Lola T430) 60
27. Chris Lambden (McRae GM1) 57
28. Eric Haga (Lola T190) 54
29. Warwick Mortimer (Surtees TS5) 48
30. Stan Redmond (Lola T332) 47
31. Ian Clements (Lola T332) 39
32. Judy Lyons (Lola T332) 30
33. Seb Coppola (Lola T192) 29
34. Kerry McIntosh (Begg FM2) 18
35. Harin de Silva (Surtees TS8) 11
