Ten of the South Island’s best motor racing classes are on the programme at Teretonga Park in Invercargill this weekend.
The headline act is the OSCA Super Saloons with reigning champion Cameron Jones, of Palmerston North, in his turbocharged Mazda RX7 leading an impressive field.
He will face tough opposition from Steve Ross, of Dunedin, in his Jaguar TraNZam. When they last met at Teretonga Park it was Ross who prevailed, winning two of the four races and taking the round victory by one point from Jones.
The Pre-78 Classic Saloons feature Mark McGuinness, of Wellington, in his Alfa Romeo GTV and a trio of Dunedin drivers in Triumph cars — Barry Dorking in a Dolomite, Paul Coghill in a Vitesse and Gavin Jackson in a Triumph 2500 plus a range of other cars from a Ford Capri to a Fiat 850.
Seb Manson, of Auckland, leads the South Island Formula Ford Championship south ahead of Dylan Petch, of Rolleston, while former champion Jack Noble-Adams is also in the field. Jacob Begg, of Winton, a great-nephew of George Begg, is second in Class 2.
The Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons will feature top local drivers Jordan Michels in his Marc Mustang against Liam MacDonald in his Falcon while brothers Dion and Kyle Dawson in a Saker SVS and Nissan Skyline respectively will be quick.
Jared Pyke, of Rangiora, was one of the best last time the Pro 8 Saloons came to Teretonga Park while local drivers Bradley and Jeremy Dawson plus Jeremy Skeggs line up as well.
Garry Price, of Cromwell, in his Chevy Nova SS was the round winner in the last appearance of Pre 65 Saloons while Corey Ross, of Rolleston, in a Mustang and local driver John Smolenski in his XP Falcon are also very competitive.
The 2K Cup South Island visits for the first time as a championship round and they bring south a tremendous field of 32 cars led by Greg Barclay, of Woodend, in his Toyota MR2.
SS Cup is another class with a large field of twenty-two cars with a wide variety of marques among them.
Justin Neill, of Christchurch, leads the Mini 7 South Series as it arrives at this, their third round of the season, with Justin Ashwell, of Lyttelton, second and Daniel Lamb, of Kaiapoi, third. Neill was the man to beat at Teretonga last season while Adam Box of Rolleston and Lamb were also prominent.
The NZ Six Saloons will feature Cody Welch, of Omakau, and David Worgan, of Methven, in Falcons and Mike McCarthy, of Dunedin, in a Commodore. Mick Ross, of Dunedin, in a Commodore and Tony Herbert, of Omakau, in a Falcon will also be ones to watch.
On track action starts from 9.30am on Saturday with qualifying from 10.55am.
There are nine races on Saturday from 2pm with every class on track at least once. Sunday’s programme gets under way at 9am with 23 races throughout the day.
Discounted presale weekend passes ($40 plus any applicable charges) are available from Auto Centre, Tweed St, Invercargill, and E Hayes & Sons, Dee St, Invercargill, while a weekend pass at the gate is $45. A Saturday-only pass at the gate is $25 and a Sunday-only pass at the gate is $30.
Children 14 and under if accompanied by an adult are free.
