‘Consistent And Quick’ The Winning Formula For New Endurance Race Straight Shooters

While first-past-the-post honours were shared by BMW E36-mounted Class 1 front-runners, Team Mag Motorsport’s Garry Cammock and Michael Jane (6 Hour) and Team Super Mates Racing’s Reece Hendl-Cox, Lee Zeltwanger and Cullern Thorby (3 Hour), the big winner at the opening round of this year’s NaZCAR Pro Series at Hampton Downs on Saturday (July 09) was the diminutive Class 4 Mazda 3 sedan of Team Assassin Racing’s Mal Chamberlain and David & Nathan Cox.

As pioneered successfully in the NaZCAR organistion’s inaugural Pro Series last year, entrants this year were divided into four classes based on time ‘bands’- from Pro 1 (cars capable of lapping the 2.8m national circuit at the Hampton Downs complex in the northern Waikato between 1:15.000 and 1:17.999) through to Pro 4 (1:27.000 to 1:33.000).

Yet, despite - again - being one of the smaller and least modified cars in the 35-car field that started Saturday’s ‘everyman’s endurance race’ at Hampton Downs, the Team Assassin Mazda was a picture of consistency and pace to top the Index of Efficiency (IoE) category in both races.

In the 3 Hr race which started concurrently with the 6 Hr at 11.00am and ran until 2.00pm , the Team Assassin Mazda completed 108 laps (out of a theoretical possible total of 124 to finish 9th overall for an IoE rating of 87.1%.

Second in the IoE rankings in the 3 Hour race with a score of 86.3% was the Honda Civic of Team 24Red Racing (Chris O’Driscoll, Matthew Randel, Mike Shutes and Michael Satherley).

That however was the closest any of the other squads got to straight shooters Mal Chamberlain and David & Nathan Cox in the Team Assassin Mazda 3, the trio again also claiming the Index of Efficiency honours - by an even greater margin at that! - in the 6 Hour standings.

Though the figure itself was down slightly (from the 87.1% after the first three hours of racing to 84.3% after six) it was still a deeply impressive result, the innocuous little Mazda completing 209 laps (out of theoretically possible 248) to cross the finish line 7th overall and again, first in its (Class 4) class.

In IoE terms, only the 4th placed Class 3 Suzuki Swift GT1 of Nathan Pilcher, Gary Baker and Dave Fisher got close to the Mazda 3, with an 80.6% score.

With all but 6 of the 35 teams which started this year’s opening NaZCAR Pro Series race at Hampton Downs opting to do both the 3 Hr and 6 Hr races run concurrently the battle for first-past-the-post victory turned into a fascinating scrap between a trio of young guns (Team Super Mates Racing’s Reece Hendl-Cox, Lee Zeltwanger and Cullern Thorby), and experienced NaZCAR series regulars, Team Mag Motorsport duo Garry Cammock and Michael Jane.

Both running BMW E 36 series cars, the two squads made the race for line honours very much their own, with the ‘Super Mates,’ (Hendl-Cox, Zeltwanger and Thorby) getting to the finish line first to claim Class 1 and overall victory in the 3 Hour (race within a race) from Cammock and Jane, still on the same lap (118) .

The first of the Class 2 entrants home, meanwhile, was Team Stickman Racing duo Karl Gaines and Lance Gerlach from West Auckland enjoying a very competitive debut in their own, newly acquired BMW E36 (coupe) in third, just a lap back on 117 laps.

From that point on, however, Cammock and Jane really turned up the heat, not only taking the lead for line honours, but also easing ahead to complete a new race record 226 laps by race end at 5.00pm.

Second in the line honour stakes in the 6 Hr race, after completing 219 lap – and again claiming the Class 2 silverware - were the Team Stickman duo of Karl Gaines and Lance Gerlach, the pair having caught, passed, and even put a lap on the 3-hr race-winning Class 1 BMW of’ ‘Super Mates’ Reece Hendl-Cox, Lee Zeltwanger and Cullern Thorby which ended up crossing the finish line 3rd’with a total of 218 laps.

The race was run in a mix of weather and track conditions from fine and dry to blustery and wet.

As well as regulars from organizer Dr Jacob Simonsen’s other novelty 6,8 12- & 24-hour NaZCAR endurance events, the first round of his year’s three-round Pro Series also saw entries from existing motorsport, speedway and KartSport groups and individuals.

Included in this welcome influx of newcomers were Super Mates teammates Reece Hendl-Cox, Lee Zeltwanger and Cullern Thorby, who all have extensive racing CVs dating back to karts, and former kart and car star Jody Vincent from Pukekohe who shared an 8th place finish in the 6 Hr with his son Emerson and karting mates Luke & Sebastian Manson.

The now Tony Quinn-owned Taupo International Motorsport Park hosts the second round of the 2022 NaZCAR Pro Series on Saturday July 30 while the final round will be held at Pukekohe Park Raceway, Pukekohe on Saturday August 20.

More information on upcoming NaZCAR events can be found on the 24 hours of NaZCAR page on Facebook at facebook.com/Nazcar24

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