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HRT aiming for ?lucky seven? at Pukekohe |
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Written by www.hsv.com.au
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With 2007 scheduled for Pukekohe to host its last V8 round in New Zealand, Holden Racing Team is looking to spearhead a Holden cleansweep of seven successive victories since the V8 championship commenced there in 2001.
Mark Skaife, the last up winner in 2006, feels he can repeat the effort this weekend.
I always feel confident at Pukekohe as it's a circuit I've gone well at, Skaife said.
It rewards consistent fast lap times and that's what we've shown so far this year, in Adelaide and Perth. Bringing our new day-glo VE Commodores up to speed so quickly has been a remarkable achievement from the team and it all points to a really successful year.
Skaife added, With Todd Kelly and myself sitting third and fourth in the championship we need a strong points haul in New Zealand to stay up with the Toll HSV boys on the points table and keep ahead of the bunch of Ford guys behind us.
Kelly said recent testing at Winton following the Perth round should be a bonus.
We picked up a few clues on fine tuning the car better for race weekends, which will be helpful as you can't try anything too out there, under the current practice and qualifying regulations.
Pukekohe has never been too kind to me in the past with track incidents and mechanical problems, things just haven't jelled together, so this is the last chance for a turnabout, Kelly said.
Having lost a heap of points in the opening race at Perth was the worst scenario for me, so we need to do a good job in each of the three Pukekohe races.
There's always a strong contingent of red army supporters in New Zealand, so I hope myself and Skaifey can give them something to get excited about. |
