Christina Orr Looks Ahead to Manfeild

For Christina Orr the fourth round of the BNTV8s Championship held at Timaru International Motor Raceway at the weekend could have gone better.

"Timaru is one of those tracks where we don't seem to get along, there's just no chemistry." she says.

However in a race weekend which saw no end of drama and even the demise of John McIntyre's championship lead due to his damaging his car beyond repair in the very first lap of race one, Orr was pleased to take the car back home in one piece after finishing all three races and earning some much welcomed BNTV8s Championship points.

Placing 20th. 17th and then 16th at the weekend was enough to keep her second in the rookie standings behind Formula Ford Champion John Whelan and ahead of most recent entry V8 Supercar driver Chris Pither.

"I was disappointed that I didn't do as well as at Teretonga but then I have never had really good results here, at Timaru it's one of those tracks where we don't seem to get along. Manfeild has always been the 'chemistry' track for me we have always been best of pals - whenever I go there my luck seems to fall into place." she says.

Manfeild Autocourse is next up on the BNTV8s Championship 2009-10 calendar and takes place over the weekend of February 13-14.

The weekend's racing at Timaru began with much turmoil when the rain began to fall after all but two of the field had lined up for the first race on slick tyres.

At the green light there was immediate carnage with cars going off the circuit in all directions but the race was halted when championship leader John McIntyre aqua-planed off the track at high speed while entering the home straight.

He collided heavily with the tyre wall damaging the car beyond repair for the day's remaining races at least.

For Christina Orr it was her first opportunity to drive the BNTV8 Commodore in a wet race and she was taking it easy while enduring the steep learning curve.

"My first wet race in the BNTV8s and I experienced the dramas of the first race where most of us started on slick tyres while it was raining - everybody set off in a hiss and a roar while I crawled around for the first lap and then the call came over the radio about a big pile up coming onto the home straight." she said.

"The car was a monster to drive in those conditions and I brought it home in 20th, after seeing Johnny's (McIntyre) car I didn't want to do anything silly - he's the championship leader and if he can put his car into a wall and write it off it can happen to anyone."

Orr's chronic bad luck with the Timaru circuit began in the second race of the weekend when after gaining a sizable advantage at the start, she found herself with nowhere to go but the infield.

"The second race would have been a fantastic race for me, I got an awesome start but someone spun Andy Knight up ahead and my train stopped all of a sudden so I had to take evasive action by going onto the grass with about four other cars." said Orr.

Even after recovering from the first corner incident she then became victim of some harsh and ruthless driving that several of the BNTV8s competitors are well known for.

"I outbraked another car at the hairpin and got in front of him but then he came up from behind and took me out - he half spun me which let the pack go through - I was fighting hard at the front of that pack and it was gutting to see them go past." she said.

After being pushed wide which caused her to let several cars slip by her, Orr was able to recover and eventually crossed the line in 17th.

The final race of the meeting was wet but this time Orr and the team were ready for it.

Due to the reverse grid format she was able to start from the second row but again soon fell victim to another couple of seasoned BNTV8s drivers.

"In the first race I was on a dry set up with wet tyres then in the second I was on a wet set up with dry tyres! But for the last race we had a wet set up with wet tyres so the car was handling better."

"I started off in 3rd, I was alright for a little while but then got a nice tap from yet another driver which unsettled my car a bit and I couldn't get the power down after he pushed me wide and a few cars filed through."

"After that I got a mighty whack and a half which put me sideways and I put a wheel on the grass and while stuck on the outside a big train of cars went past - the hit also closed up the end of my exhaust pipe so the car wasn't pulling properly down the straights - it wasn't round like it was supposed to be but munted."

"But I ended up finishing 16th which wasn't last and I still finished the race - another wet race and learning curve for me - we expected it to get quite rough out there but I wasn't expecting to get hit in the places where I did."

After four rounds in the BNTV8s driving the Holden Commodore, the learning curve may begin to ease slightly but competing in the toughest motorsport series in the country will always be far from easy.

"The car was going well as far as horsepower but it could always handle better, we are still learning the car and I am still learning stuff with it - the mechanical issues have gone and I'm looking forward to Manfeild where who knows I may get my first podium." said Orr.

The fifth round at Manfeild Autocourse will be held over the 13-14th February with qualifying and the top 10 shootout on Saturday with all three races on Sunday.

TV3 will have coverage of the shootout and three races on Sunday the 14th February.

The final round of the BNTV8s Championship 2009-10 is March 20-21 held at Taupo Motorsport Park but it is followed by a non-championship event within the ITM 400 at Hamilton providing action-filled support racing for the third round of the Australian V8 Supercars on April 16-18.

Christina Orr leadng a pack of BNTV8s at Timaru Interntional Motor Raceway - SportProMedia