Look back in history Sunday: Bristow wins in 2008

Pukekohe driver Michael Bristow is the 2007/2008 First Windows & Doors V8 Development Series Champion after a superb season at the wheel of his Holden Hot Laps Commodore.

The twenty-one year old sealed the title at Manfeild Park in Feilding at the weekend after he crossed the line in the second race of the round on Sunday morning in fourth place. He had only needed to finish the race to ensure himself of the championship.

Bristow had arrived at Manfeild with an eighty-six point lead and a finish in two of the three races was all he required to become the champion. In his own words “we did what we needed to do.”

Bristow began the round by qualifying the Holden Hot Laps Commodore second fastest on Saturday morning and then drove to second place in an 8 lap race later that afternoon.

The championship became his when, in pouring rain, he finished fourth in Sunday morning’s race.

“Absolutely stoked,” was the reaction after the title was wrapped up. “I’m rapt, especially when it looked as though we might not be able to finish the championship at the beginning of the season.” Due to a shortage of funds at the beginning of the year the small team were unsure how many rounds they could contest. When Holden Hot Laps and Holden Advanced Driver Training heard of his plight after he had won the first two rounds they joined his other loyal sponsors to allow Michael to continue to build on the great start he had made to the season.

The title was richly deserved, Bristow having won seven of the fifteen races in the series prior to the final round. In addition he had taken five second placings, one third plus one fourth. That dominant string of results meant that Michael had won four of the first five rounds, finishing third at the other. At Manfeild this weekend his focus was on securing the championship rather than race wins. The team have worked particularly hard for their success, Michael and his father doing most of the work on their ex-Team Kiwi VY Commodore themselves.

Ironically, after Michael had claimed the championship, an incident in the final race, a reverse grid event saw him finish eleventh, two laps behind the leaders. “The front row stopped ahead of me on the startline and I managed to stop in time to avoid them. Unfortunately I was then rear-ended. I had to crawl to the pits to have the damage repaired.” Bristow rejoined the race and made the finish, happy that the incident occurred after the championship was done and dusted.

Michael’s successes in the Development Series have already seen him selected to drive a Ford Falcon in the final two rounds of the NZ V8s Championship where he has been nothing short of a revelation. In his two appearances in that series he has challenged many of the established stars and has two top ten finishes to his name already.

Prior to this year Bristow had finished second in the Development Series in his debut season in a VK Commodore given to him by sponsor and mentor, Miles Pope. Last season budgetary constraints meant Michael could only race at the North Island rounds of the series. Prior to cars Michael raced karts where he excelled, winning the 125 National Gearbox title two years in a row and the Open Dirt Nationals two years running. He also made an impression when the V8 Brute Utes came to NZ from Australia in 2006. In a one-off appearance he was the second fastest kiwi in qualifying behind V8 Supercar star Jason Richards before finishing fifth overall.

Michael will next be seen in action at the Hamilton 400 Street Race over the weekend of 18-20 April at the wheel of the Tex Onsite / Richards Team Motorsport car that he has been racing in the New Zealand V8s Championship recently.