Cross Adapting Rapidly
Christchurch driver Hamish 'The Hustler' Cross is adapting quickly to the vagaries of UDC V8 Utes.
After a horror opening round at Hampton Downs where he suffered a variety of problems Cross demonstrated at Powerbuilt
Tools Raceway at Ruapuna in Christchurch this weekend that it will not be long before he is a real force to be reckoned
with in the rough and tumble of the series.
'The Hustler' qualified his BNT/Fuchs Falcon fourth fastest behind series veterans Chris 'Hammer Time' Hanley, Peter
'Kaos' Ward and James 'Huggi' Urquhart at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway and then went on to secure fifth place in the opening
race on Saturday afternoon.
However the big improvement came the following day after Cross had a chat with good mate Andy Knight. Knight, a veteran
of NZV8s and V8 SuperTourers, suggested Cross try a different driving style in the V8 Ute. After a long and successful
career in many types of machinery Cross found that the BNT/Fuchs Falcon responded better to the different approach and
raced to fifth place from the back of the grid in race two. He followed that up with two superb results, scoring a third
and second in the final two races, dicing with the series frontrunners in the process.. Unfortunately he was later hit
with a 5 second time penalty which dropped him down the order in the final race.
"It was all about getting extra miles and changing my driving style," said The Hustler at the conclusion of the round.
"I struggled on Saturday but the weekend got better and better. I'm pretty rapt to be moving forward."
The next outing for the UDC V8 Utes is a non championship round at Pukekohe as a support category to the Australian V8
Supercar Championship from 12-14 April.
ends