The Three-Hour Class A (0-2000cc) podium was decided with a last lap thriller at the 2020 New Zealand Endurance Championships on Saturday at Highlands Motorsport Park.
The entry level class to New Zealand’s fastest tin tops and arguably most enjoyable series enjoys healthy and fierce competition in the South Island Series.
Dominated by well sorted Honda’s, Toyota and Peugeot, Series regulars Arron and Stu Black took this season off with their formidable 2000cc 2006 ex-World Touring Car BMW.
The super quick Honda Civic of Darryl Phillips and Terence Phillips encountered head gasket and radiator issues on Friday’s test day that went unresolved.
This elevated Vaughan Moloney and Mark Taylor in their Honda Integra Type R to favourites qualifying with 1:58.738 to be just ahead of Oliver Heycoop and Brock Cooley’s 1:59.598 in the oldest car in the field a 1986 1600cc Toyota Corolla FXGT.
Qualifying 3rd in Class A was the # 94 Collins & Sons Pugstang (1994 Peugeot 106 Rallye) of TEX Stanton, Adam Jones Jnr and Lucky Tremain (Seriously Fun), with 2:05.270. They were ahead of Noel Simons and David Berry, the current South Island champions, who clinched the title with consistent results across the series in another Honda Integra Type R, posting a 2:08.744 qualifier.
Drama struck Heycoop early on lap 4, virtually beside Taylor, with a fork selector issue taking out 3rd and 4th gear, forcing retirement on a circuit that cannot be driven in 2nd and 5th.
The pair had a new gearbox on route which had not arrived in time after finishing the final round at Timaru International Raceway with only 3rd and 4th gears at their disposal.
This paved the way for Taylor and Moloney to claim the national title after cruelly having their South Island campaign cut short with unnecessary damage inflicted by a fellow competitor at the Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Christchurch in October.
TEX Stanton (Seriously Fun Pugstang) was driving well gaining four laps on rivals Simons and Berry, who were experiencing over heating issues which saw them in the pits twice. Drama struck the Seriously Fun entry just over 35-minutes into the race when the front right punctured on the Southern Loop infield while making more room on the long sweeper that was experiencing traffic three wide.
“We put a tyre on I wouldn’t use for an eight-lap sprint race” said Adam Jones Jnr, about the replacement right front wheel.
Jones was in the car just before the hour mark at the end of the long safety car period and still had just over a lap margin to the third placed Integra. The gap remained constant for the middle third of the race.
With the Seriously Fun Pugstang having to do a third driver change, the Simons / Berry car were able to claim most of a lap back that they had lost earlier in the race. The Collins & Sons sponsored team made an efficient pit stop in under 90 seconds to enter the final third of the race still in second position and began extending the gap.
With 10 laps to go, the third placed Simon / Berry car must have thrown the ballast out the door, finding upwards of 15 seconds a lap to set a PB on lap 71 of 2:00.645 and were quickly hunting down the Collins & Sons Pugstang. Meanwhile the Treadlite sponsored Pugstang was noticing they were getting a little light on tread.
Lucky Tremain sensed he was nearing his quota with the focus now on making the chequered flag.
“Coming into Forest Elbow the Integra was in the mirror, foot flat on the approach to the bridge, I simply had to shrug, wave and smile as I gave the boys the thumbs up. We were outgunned in the drag race, but our luck hadn’t expired as we finished on the podium with a tyre that wouldn’t have made another lap” said Tremain.
Class A is an excellent and affordable way to get into endurance racing and is certainly as much fun, if not more fun than any of the bigger classes as demonstrated by the Seriously Fun team who aim to promote participation in motorsport while competing as hard as they can.
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