November 11  2008

Media release: For immediate release to all media

Childs returns with a vengeance in Suzuki Production championship

After missing the opening round of the New Zealand Suzuki Production Championship due to injuries received from an accident on an all-terrain 4WD quad bike, pre-season favourite Logan Childs returned to the championship at the second round at Pukekohe and took out the top placing for the round in the 4WD section of the championship in his potent Mitsubishi Evo 9 after setting pole position, winning the first race and taking two seconds in the other races.

“It was great to be back racing and to get some good results which have enabled me to close the points gap to Simon Sceats in his Subaru WRX. I rather felt I had let down my team with the accident on the quad bike, but at least I have shown them that we are competitive and can mount a strong challenge for the championship” said Childs.

Logan Childs leading Simon Sceats
Photo: Sport Pro Media

Childs qualified just ahead of Scott McKelvie, Zane Coppins, Brady Kennett, Grant Aitken and Dean Sumner in their similar Mitsubishis, then Kevin Varney in his Subaru WRX just ahead of Gene Rollinson in his Mazda3 MPS with Michael Modgill in a similar car close behind. Fastest of the Suzuki Swifts was Cody McMaster ahead of William Bamber, Graham Smyth, Scott Downes and Brock Barrie. Simon Sceats did not record a time due to over-boosting problems.

There had been dramas during the week prior with Ben Dallas rolling his car in testing and Marc Spring having his car broken into in his “secure yard” and about $6500 worth of gear stolen.

Childs got away well from the 31 car field, closely tailed by McKelvie right to the flag. Then there was gap back to a close Kennett, Coppins and Sceats, then back to Aitken  and Sumner, then Varney, then John Rongen in the Evo 10 (still in showroom standard tune), then Modgill who managed to head off Rollinson in their Mazda3 MPS cars to win the front-wheel-drive class, then Andrew Fox in his Nissan 200 SX, Peter Hills in his Honda Integra, David Silverton in his Nissan Skyline, and Wally Richards in his Integra which suffered from a miss in the engine. However McKelvie was excluded from the result for a technical infringement.

The Suzuki  Swift Cup cars were being led by McMaster, but only until he came up behind a slower car in the Esses. McMaster chose to follow this car which then slowed some more while his Suzuki rivals took the outside line to move ahead of the hemmed in McMaster.  Into the class lead went Bamber, closely followed by Dallas and Smyth. McMaster tried to regain his position by making a desperate lunge around the outside going into the sweeper at the end of pit straight and shot off into the dirt, lightly clouting the tyre barrier, but able to return to the race to finish in second to last place. Thus the class win went to Bamber from Dallas and Smyth, then Barrie, then Downes, Fisher and  Richard Moore.

Ben Dallas, winner of the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup
Photo: Sport Pro Media

Race two was another great race out front with Sceats challenging Childs until Sceats was able to make a move up the inside of Childs going into the sweeper to take the lead and the win.  Third place went to Kennett from McKelvie. In a close finish, fourth place was taken by Zane Coppins from Aitken, then back to Sumner and Varney, then well back to Rongen just ahead of Rollinson in his class-winning Mazda, ahead of a close  Modgill and Taylor, then back to Silverton, Ninkranz (Mazda3 MPS) and Fox, then Hills,  then the hordes of Suzukis led home by a delighted Dallas, ahead of Smyth, Barrie, Fisher, McMaster, Moore and Bamber,  McMaster not happy with his car’s handling after the first race crash.

Race three was a delayed start reverse grid start, with the Suzukis starting first and the 4WDs last. It didn’t take long for Rollinson to power his way through the Suzukis to take the lead and what looked like an easy win, but veteran campaigner, Grant Aitken in his Mitsubishi Evo, had had a good run through the field and began hauling in the rapid Mazda. With four laps to go he had caught Rollinson and passed him to take the lead, soon followed by Childs who then began closing on Aitken – but it was too late and Aitken took a popular win from Childs with Coppins third and Sceats fourth, then Rollinson ahead of Sumner and Kennett, then Taylor, Modgill and Varney, then back to Ninkranz, then Rongen and Hills. Then it was the Suzuki Swifts with McMaster back to his best to take the win from a very close Dallas, then Fisher, Smyth, Spring and Moore.

Brady Kennett retained his lead in the Class C 4WD section of the championship, despite a disappointing third place for the round won by Childs; Gene Rollinson extended his lead in the Class B 2WD section, and Cody McMaster retained his lead in the Class A 2WD and Suzuki Swift Sport Cup section despite finishing the round in sixth place after his first race drama, the round being won by Ben Dallas.

Did Aitken really say this was probably his last race at Pukekohe? With the speed he showed in this race, there is plenty of life left in this very experienced campaigner.

Points: Class A (2WD 1600cc) McMaster 377, Smyth 350, Fisher 335, Dallas 329, Bamber 318.
Class B (2WD 1601 – 3500cc) Rollinson 442, Modgill 389, Taylor 381, Fox 303.
Class C (4WD) Kennett 381, Sceats 372, Coppins 364, Aitken 321, Sumner 271, Rongen 234, McKelvie 224, Childs 209.

Next round: November 28-30 Powerbuilt Ruapuna raceway, Christchurch.

For further information: Robin Curtis Mob: 0274 864 794.