Media release: Winger Suzuki Swift Sport Cup
For immediate release: Wednesday 16 October 2013
Suzuki race title to take a twist this weekend
Contesting this weekend’s penultimate round for the 2013 Winger Suzuki Swift Sport Cup comes with a twist as the field
lines up for three races at the northern Waikato location of Hampton Downs 19-20 October.
Led by Hamilton’s Shaun Lawrence whose time at the top this season has been through consistent performance, it comes
under pressure as the weekend’s format includes a double points reverse grid race on Sunday morning. The weekend’s top
performer is in line for 145 points – a solid chunk against Lawrence’s total of 389.
In second, trailing Lawrence by 12.5 points is Karaka’s Andrew Vincent while third is Takapau’s Sam Barry – a further
26.5 points back.
The second time the series has raced at the 2.7km circuit this season – its contour following layout seems to suit the
class of 1600cc Suzuki production cars in race trim. The season opening round in February wooed fans as the field put on
a show as they often pour two wide through its sequence of turns.
Typically the scene for biff and bump style racing the weekend has four opportunities for scoring points – starting with
the Saturday qualifying session. That’s followed by an eight-lap mid-afternoon race before the game-changing Sunday
morning 25 lap reverse-grid grind. Added to that is a compulsory pit stop and tyre change by the team’s crew and double
points for finishing – where a win is normally worth 35. The weekend rounds out with a ten-lap race early in the
afternoon for a final grab of points.
“Hampton Downs is definitely a happy hunting ground for me and the team. It’s a fantastic circuit and really seems to
suit my style of driving” says Lawrence, who took an early lead after that season opening round.
“We’re obviously going to run the setup we had for Round One and I can see this being a really pivotal weekend as far as
the championship goes. If we can pull another strong result here it’ll take a lot of pressure off for Pukekohe” he
added.
It’s that same strategy Vincent sees as an opportunity to leap-frog clear of his rivals – having finished runner-up to
Lawrence last time the cars visited the circuit
“We’ve got to go in and get consistent results early,” said the university student of his weekend plan. “And with the
long distance of the Sunday morning race we need to have a steady pace and with a good pit stop we should be okay. We
got that right at Pukekohe when we had our first long race for the season – which really helped get the race win.”
Vincent also says he’s looking forward to the challenges of the Hampton Downs circuit: “It’s more of a drivers track and
makes for close racing with its tighter corners. The undulations make it different for a driver than the flat tracks
round the rest of country – so it’s a fun challenge.”
Along with Lawrence, Vincent and Barry, fourth placed Josh Drysdale (Palmerston North), fifth placed Glen Collinson
(Hamilton) and seventh placed Grant Ryan (Lower Hutt) have also won races this year. That gives them credibility at
being a potential top-points benefactor.
Winner of the previous round, Castrol Scholarship recipient and leading rookie Josh Drysdale has moved to within 79
points of Lawrence and says he’s out to right some wrongs after that opening round.
The first chance the cars get to assess each other’s form is Saturday morning with a short 15 minute practise session
ahead of the 12:25pm qualifying.
The field also includes Christchurch’s Blair Robertson, Rotorua’s Thomas Joyes and Auckland’s Ben Macdonald. All three
are series rookies.
# # #
2013 Winger Suzuki Swift Sport Cup
Points after round four (of six)
Pos Car No. Name Hometown Total
1 14 Shaun Lawrence Hamilton 389
2 12 Andrew Vincent Karaka 376.5
3 71 Sam Barry Takapau 350
4 6 Josh Drysdale Palmerston North 310
5 17 Glen Collinson Hamilton 299
6 63 Blair Robertson Christchurch 259
7 11 Grant Ryan Lower Hutt 237.5
8 96 Thomas Joyce Hamilton 179
9 35 Ben Macdonald Remuera 145
10 55 Campbell Christie Auckland 115
11 2 Cody McMaster Christchurch 81
12 2 Chris Cox Rangiora 50
ENDS