Winner takes all finale for ASKO Series at Ruapuna

Winner takes all finale for ASKO Series at Ruapuna

Competitors in the ASKO Appliances South Island Endurance Series have had plenty of time to dry out after their torrid Levels round and will be out in force for the Grand Finale at Powerbuilt Ruapuna on Saturday November 24th. The final round will be run at the high profile V8SuperTourer meeting, and in many aspects will be a ‘winner takes all’ race. There are still 15 cars that can still win the overall ASKO Appliance South Island Endurance Series title and the classes are equally as far from decided, however there are also a few cars out of series contention that will be racing purely for Ruapuna glory.

After two rounds 2011 Series champion Paul Kelly & co-driver Daniel Gaunt (Porsche 997 GT3) are currently tied on 201 points with Rick Armstrong/Matt Hamilton (997 GT3), with the 2nd International Motorsport car of Andrew Bagnall/Ant Pedersen (997 GT3) only a single point behind on 200 pts. So, providing these cars finish near the top of the leader board, it will be winner takes all race for the GT class and also the 2012 ASKO Series where the winner will receive the South Canterbury Toyota Cup and the winners’ cheque for $10,000. However, with 95 points up for grabs for race & class winners, there are 15 cars that still mathematically have a shot at winning the series. But based on recent form the only other car with a genuine shot at the title are Simon Ellingham/Jono Lester (997 GT3) who are currently in 4th place. Cars that could easily spoil the party at Ruapuna include the return of the popular Falcon V8 Supercar+ of Matt & Dwayne Carter as well as the magnificent new Ferrari 458 Challenge in the hands of Sam MacNeill/Craig Innes and the incredibly fast but so far fragile Porsche 996 GT2 twin turbo of past series champions Angus McFarlane/Michael Bushell. Add into the mix 997 GT3’s for George McFarlane/Grant Silvester, enduro specialist Scott O’Donnell/Clark Proctor and Kevin Gallichan/Michael Driver, plus Porsche 996 GT3’s for Rally Queen Emma Gilmour/Allan Dippie and Garry Cliff/Hayden Knighton and the GT class is bumper full of quality.

The 3501cc+ Class 1 is the class to see the Kiwi ‘hybrids’ in both V8 and turbo guise, and its also in essence ‘winner takes all’ with only 8 points separating the top 4. With John Wadsworth/Warren Croft (Commodore VY) currently leading from 2011 class champions Graeme Rhodes/Paul Rickerby (RX7 V8) who are tied for 2nd with Craig McDermid/Scotty McDermid (Corolla twin turbo). Fourth in class & still not to be ruled out for the top class placing is the hot little BMW 135i of Todd Murphy/Shaun Varney. An unfortunate last lap DNF at Teretonga will see the Perry Scarfe/Dean ‘Wildman’ Perkins (Ford XR8 Ute) looking for some redemption and Ruapuna will also see the South Island debut of the sleek Ford GT of Rick Cooper/Deon Cooper which could easily challenge for class & overall race honors.

The 2001-3500cc Class 2 has the biggest points spread with Arron Black/Stu Black (x-WTCC BMW E46) holding a reasonable points buffer over the Warren Good/Bryan Rusbatch (Mini Challenge), however a DNF or similar can still see the Black’s be overtaken for class 2 victory. There is also sure to be a great battle for the final podium spot between another rally specialist Chris West/Gavin Dawson (Evo 9) and James Marshall/Russell Mortimer (Rx7) who are tied on points for 3rd, with John DeVeth/Phil Gill (Evo 8) just 4 points behind, and as well as class honors many of these cars will also be vying for the Matt Heagney Memorial Trophy for first 4 cylinder car home. But this class also has a number of runners who are out of series contention, including the return of the BMW Gtr of Alan McCormick/David McCormick after an engine failure at Teretonga, 2011 Class 3&4 winners Steve Parker/Matt Jackson returning with turbo power in the hot Honda S2000, the magnificent Seat Leon Supercopa of Richard Billington/Mark Hourigan and the rapid AE86 Turbo of Pat Heagney/Ryan Heagney who will all be seeking a class victory in the Ruapuna race.

However it’s the smallest capacity class that is the true winner takes all class at the round. As the 0-2000cc Classes 3 & 4 has been uncontested so far in the 2012 Series there are 6 of the ASKO One Hour Race Series competitors who have stepped up to have a shot at the claiming the Class 3&4 Series title. The ever reliable Peugeot 106 of Ken Sinclair/Dennis Ham is joined by another 106 this year from Tim Stanton/Gary Wilkinson. There is also a pair of Integra’s for Mark Wederell/Jason Atkins & Dean McGuigan/tba. Invercargill will be represented by Grant Molloy/Bradley Dawson (Mirage) and One Hour Series class speedster Dougal MacGibbon teams up with girlfriend Alexandra Meiling in the rapid S2000 powered Starlet, so this class will see a real hare vs. tortoise battle throughout the race.

With so many cars still in with a chance of taking out the overall ASKO Series and individual class honors, the racing will be nail biting and series secretary Chris Dunn expects another close result “Our series has never been closer heading into our final and it is bound to be a close & dramatic race, plus with some top cars out of series contention but gunning for round glory that will just add to the excitement” “Fans will get to see the best cars from Germany, Italy, Australia, America and Japan, and in fact it’s the only series in the world where you see a Australian V8 Supercar go head to head with the Porsche GT3 and Ferrari 458” said Dunn. Add in the ‘homebuilt’ Kiwi ingenuity V8’s and horse powered turbo Jappa’s, and there will be races within races right throughout the field.

Thanks to Series sponsor ASKO Appliances as well as associate sponsors Southern Finance, Paul Kelly Motor Company, Hagley Aluminum and Allied Petroleum / Mobil 1, the Series has a total of $30,000- that will be paid out to series competitors. With $10,000- up for grabs for the overall 3 Hour Series winners, the balance will be paid based on class points across both the 3 Hour & 1 Hour Series. There are also numerous other trophies, prizes and awards for the series, including an original watercolor painting by High Country artist Norman Sinclair valued at approx. $10,000- and a set of Michelin tyres that will be given away as spot prizes at the Clubs prize giving held after the Ruapuna race.

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