Jack Perkins Enjoys His Commodore Experience

MEDIA RELEASE
22 APRIL 2008

Jack Perkins Enjoys His Meguiars Commodore Experience

"Really good fun!" That was Australian V8 Supercar star Jack Perkins opinion of his New Zealand V8s appearance in the Meguiars Commodore at the Hamilton Street race this weekend.

Perkins, the son of six-time Bathurst Champion Larry Perkins, certainly showed his undoubted talent during the three non-championship races for the New Zealand V8s. Sadly, good fortune was not always with him. "We had an extreme amount of bad luck," he said as he contemplated the weekend after the final race on Sunday. "We only managed six laps in practice before we had brake problems. In qualifying we were thirteenth after the first session, ahead of Kayne Scott. Then in the second session we broke a tailshaft. It was a real shame as the Meguiars Commodore was a really good car and we had a shot at the top ten."

The experience Perkins has gained in Australian V8 Supercars was evident in the opening race when he had the car up to eighth place on the opening lap. Rain began to fall during the race and with the cars running on dry weather slick tyres the race was stopped after six laps with Perkins classified seventeenth. "It was too wet and we're not racing for sheep stations," he said in agreement with the decision.

A nineteenth place followed in a torrid race on Saturday afternoon while the Australian visitor climbed to thirteenth in Sunday's twenty lap race after starting from twentieth on the grid.

The twenty-one year old Australian did find the driving further back in the New Zealand V8s field, "a bit too crazy. I had a bit more patience than some of those guy's!"

"The Meguiars Commodore was really fast, it possibly lacked a bit of engine but Sheldon (engineer Sheldon Carrington) and the guys did a good job. I am very grateful to Meguiars, IPS, Nulon, Global Signage, Spies Hecker, Brandish and Hamilton businessman Rod Gifford for supporting my drive here and for all the work car owner Darryn Henderson did to make it happen."

Perkins' appearance in the support race to the New Zealand round of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship came about after he was forced to step down from his drive in the Australian Series last year when he was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. Now racing in the Fujitsu V8 Series in Australia Perkins felt that to get back into the main series it would help to have the new Hamilton circuit on his CV. With only one race a year on the Hamilton streets, racing a New Zealand V8 was the best opportunity to achieve that objective.

ends

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