Pallet Supplies Racing
19 Feb 2013
UDC V8 Utes Round 1 Hampton Downs
Solid performance gives confidence to Rudd and team.
A weekend of mixed but solid results has put an air of assurance into the Pallet Supplies Racing Team. Coming out on the
first practice day of the new season on top of the timing sheets was mildly surprising for both Rudd and the rest of the
Ute racing field given his lack of experience behind the wheel – comparative to the rest of the drivers. However while
he may lack in the statistic charts and be unable to make a claim of years behind the wheel, what he can do is show that
he has an ability to throw 1.8 ton of V8 Ute around a circuit at speed.
With a brand new format for the UDC V8 Utes this season of a qualifying run followed by four races, there would be
plenty of opportunity for Rudd to prove his new found confidence across the 2013 run.
He was able to hold his place during the first race, starting and finishing in 5th place, but the second race was not
what he had planned after he was shunted off the track by another competitor.
“The marble draw for the grid was certainly not in our favour” claimed Rudd post-race. “Starting 8th would always be a
battle, and getting punted off does you no good”.
After finishing 9th in the second run due to the mishap Rudd was then forced to start from 5th on the grid for Race 3,
and again it did not quite go to plan, with a final spot of 7th across the chequered flag. This would mean that the
combined point’s effort of the weekend to date would see him starting from Row 4 - yet another strong effort would be
required from 8th.
It was here that Rudd found his early pace again, he moved up the congested field to finish the final outing in 6th
place, good enough to place him 7th overall in the Championship.
Rudd was in a positive mood. “It was a solid performance and a good start to the series considering the second race
incident” and so too was Team Manager Rob Vazey. “Our team has a goal and we are focused to achieve this for our
sponsors and supporters. Our speed in practice showed that Brett and the car are fast posting the second fastest lap of
the weekend and with a little fine tuning we will be further up the field. As Brett has said, it was a solid start to
the series”.
The deal now will be for the team to ensure Rudd has the best setup possible for the next round at the Christchurch
based Ruapuna circuit, a place where good flow is important. For Rudd, his job will simply be to ensure that the buoyant
attitude he found during this opening stanza can be taken south.
The team will be in action again on the weekend of 9/10 March, and the word around the campfire is that after only one
season of competition, Pallet Supplies Racing is now a team to watch out for.
ENDS