Instead, they will be setting out to put as many points as possible between themselves and other challengers as they head into this year’s big enduros at Sandown and Bathurst over the following two rounds.

Championship leader Tander and defending champ Kelly say only a solid result will do in the Jim Beam 400 at Sydney’s challenging 2.7km figure-eight circuit as a launching pad for the endurance races.

But that means avoiding the glitches that beset their efforts at Oran Park last year.

On that occasion, Tander’s championship aspirations took a hit when a power steering failure forced him out of Race 1 of the three-race round.

It was the first of several unlucky setbacks that effectively skittled his championship in the course of three rounds, including “DNFs” with Holden Racing Team’s Mark Skaife at Sandown and Bathurst.

And while Kelly scored second place at Oran Park last year, it could have been better except for broken steering that caused his Commodore to “drive like a billycart”, forcing him to give up the lead in Race 3.

Like last year, Tander is leading the title battle going into the round at Oran Park – a circuit he loves but which has not always returned his affection, his best finish there being second in 2000.

And like last year, the West Australian is chasing back-to-back victories after his dominant three-race clean-sweep at Queensland Raceway last round.

But Tander knows better than anyone that he has to make every post a winner from this point in the series to avoid having his championship dream snatched away once again.

And again, his own team-mate, defending champion Kelly, is his biggest threat at the half-way mark of the series.

Kelly goes into Round 8 just behind Tander after giving up the championship lead last round at Queensland Raceway. A drive-through penalty for a pit lane infringement cost Kelly any chance of success on that occasion, although he clawed his way back up 22 places and into the points at ninth place overall.

While the 24-year-old from Mildura still has a 74-point break over third-placed Jamie Whincup, he will be keen to keep that gap in the bank for the run home while he wrestles Tander for the title.

Like Tander, Kelly loves Oran Park, with its kerbs, flowing back section and need for commitment at several points.

So far this season, at least one of the Toll HSV Dealer Team drivers have made it on to the podium every round, with three round wins between them. Both drivers are averaging more than 50 points a round – the only drivers in the field to achieve this feat.

Both Toll HSV drivers know there is more than points at stake in this weekend’s round – the results could have a major bearing on driver pairings within the Toll HSV team for the big endurance races over the following two rounds.

#16 Garth Tander: “This is one round that I don’t have great memories of from last year, because it all started going pear-shaped from here for a while. But we had good speed there last year, and it is a circuit I really enjoy, so we are looking to go there and get a good solid result before we head to Sandown. The championship position won’t change things at all, really. Obviously we won’t want to get caught up in any dramas, but I don’t think it will make any difference to any other round we have had this year. We just want to go there and do a solid job, score as many points as we can and see where we are.”

#1 Rick Kelly: “Queensland was tough for the team on car No. 1. We are very keen to get to Oran Park to get our championship back on track. Oran Park is one of my favourite tracks. It is nice and flowing, and a good lap around there is very rewarding. Last year it treated us well, and we only missed out on a win due to a car hindrance.”

The event promoters in conjunction with the Porter family announced that the V8 Supercar Championship drivers will race for a new trophy, the Mark Porter Memorial Trophy, to honour the well known Waikato driver who was tragically killed whilst racing at Bathurst last year.

Waikato fans will get the first opportunity to purchase tickets for the Hamilton 400 which go on sale in Hamilton next Saturday 18 August. Residents who bring a coupon from the Waikato Times newspaper to one of the Ticketek outlets in Hamilton will have exclusive rights to purchase their tickets for the event for the first week.

General public throughout the rest of the country and online purchases will be able to buy tickets from all Ticketek outlets and book accommodation through the centralized online system from Monday 27 August.

The Chairman of V8 Supercars Australia, Tony Cochrane said his organisation was thrilled to have secured the date and looked forward to bringing the exciting V8 Supercar Championship to Hamilton next year.

“This is going to be one of the best events on our calendar. With tickets now on sale I urge all New Zealanders to make sure they are part of this historic first race on a great journey for Kiwi motorsport,” Mr Cochrane said.

“Hamilton has the hallmarks of becoming the New Zealand equivalent of the biggest and best street race on our Australian calendar – the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

“What a wonderful achievement for New Zealand and Hamilton to be able to stage what will be the biggest single sporting event in the country by far.”

The New Zealand promoters Caleta Streetrace Management Ltd (CSM) said the confirmed date signaled a firm reality that the event was all-go.

“Our team has been working very hard to get to this point and we are excited that we have a firm date now. It signals the start to what we believe will be an iconic event in New Zealand,” said Dean Calvert, managing director of CSM.

“We are also honoured that the Porter family have agreed for that the drivers can compete for the Mark Porter Memorial Trophy, to be held in perpetuity for this event. Mark Porter was a well known driver in V8 Supercars and the Porter family has been synonymous with motorsport in this country and especially here in their home in Hamilton.

“We feel this is an appropriate way to celebrate and honour that contribution and we are indebted to their support.”

Hamilton Mayor Bob Simcock says the announcement of the V8 dates and ticket release is an exciting milestone.

"This major event is now really on its way. The civil works in preparation of the track are proceeding well, and we believe the momentum will really start to build now that we have dates and ticket sales confirmed," says Mayor Simcock.

Mr Simcock says the excitement in the community has continued at a high level right from when the announcement of the event was first made. He says this next phase promises even more.

Mr Calvert said that residents of the Waikato and Hamilton in particular, along with Hamilton City Council, had shown tremendous support for the event since it was first mooted.

“One way to repay some of that support and loyalty is to give them the first opportunity to purchase the tickets of their choice. They get to choose the best seats in the house.”

A special ticket outlet will be established in Civic Square, Garden Place for a one-day promotion on Saturday 18 August from 10am to 4pm. This will include some special displays with support from Ford and Holden, Waikato Times and The Radio Network.

“They just have to bring along the special coupon out of the Waikato Times and they can secure their pick of the seats. I am sure there will be a race to see who can secure the first tickets to the first ever V8 Supercar streetrace in Hamilton.”

The event is limited to 55,000 per day for the first year which includes nearly 20,000 grandstand seats.

“The nature of a street circuit is much different. Our aim is to provide an overall experience for the whole family.

“While there will be excellent opportunity for general admission, the best viewing will be from the seven major grandstands which all have good views to the 12 big screens we will have around the circuit.”

The ticketed area is at the top of the circuit running from the Waikato stadium, which pits and start-finish line on Mill St through to Seddon Park, which will be the venue for two nights of free concerts after racing for ticketholders. The rest of the 3.4km circuit winds around the Frankton business district which will not offer direct viewing of the track aside from the grandstands at the bottom of the circuit. Race fans able to wander through the Frankton retail district which will operate throughout the weekend.

“We’ve enjoyed excellent support from the Frankton business and retail district and we will be holding further meetings with them in the coming weeks to outline further details and support for them in appreciation for their help.”

Mr Calvert said that full details of ticketing and event organisation will be on the event website and in the media in the coming weeks.

“We’ve reached the start line for the Hamilton 400. It’s going to be a long hard race ahead but this is a red letter day for us, for Hamilton City, for the V8 Supercar Championship and for motorsport in this country.”

Team Kiwi Racing announced today that they have finalised a technical partnership with Stone Brothers Racing after weeks of discussions with various other teams and looking at other options.

Under the agreement, SBR have been contracted to provide technical support to TKR, as well as supply engines for the Team Kiwi Ford, taking the number of V8 main-game cars using SBR engines to eight.

TKR owner David John said he and his sponsors are excited about the future.

“We can’t wait to get the TKR All Black machine back on the grid for our many fans, our sponsors and our team,” Mr John said.

“The criticism and the malicious reports over the last few weeks have been hard to take but we have remained focused on getting back on the track and let the side show just run its course.

“Our focus has been to ensure we provide our sponsors and New Zealand public with the most competitive package we could with for the Australian V8 Supercar Championship and that is part of the reason why we decided to go with the Stone Brothers Racing option.

“We are delighted to have secured technical support from Stone Brothers Racing. They have been one of the best teams in V8 Supercars over the last few years and have an engineering reputation second to none.

“We must also thank all other teams who offered their support and put forward various options and opportunities to see Team Kiwi Racing back on the track and competing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship”

Mr John said TKR will be returning to its roots in continuing to provide young New Zealand drivers with the opportunity to step up to the main game in the highly competitive V8 Supercar Championship with the signing of Shane Van Gisbergen.

Van Gisbergen, 18, is a natural talent having won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and numerous other NZ titles and honours.

“Shane has tested in a V8 Supercar on three previous occasions and has shown the ability to be fast and smooth at the same time,” said Mr John.

Van Gisbergen is excited at the prospect. “This is a dream come true for me. I know I still have a lot to learn both on and off the race track but that is the challenge ahead for me and I look forward to repaying everyone who has shown faith in providing me with this opportunity,” Van Gisbergen said. “I am also indebted for the support from the Giltrap Motor Group who gave me the chance to compete in the Toyota Racing Series, which has been the springboard to this chance with Team Kiwi Racing in V8 Supercars.”

Van Gisbergen will have a rookie test day in the TKR All Black V8 Supercar before he heads to the Oran Park round of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship in Sydney on the 17 to 19 August.

2006 Crowd: 41,614
Circuit length: 2.9-kilometres
Circuit direction: Anti-clockwise
Average speed: 147km/h
Maximum speed: 265km/h
Fastest Point: End of main straight
Slowest Point: Turn 5 Hairpin (65 km/h)

Brief description of the circuit: South of Darwin, Hidden Valley Raceway’s main feature is its 1.1-kilometre long straight where top-end horsepower is critical and a car that flows well through the sweeping bends in the second part of the lap is the key.

10 FAST FACTS

1. Only two drivers have made it to the third and final segment of qualifying at every round so far in 2007. Todd Kelly and Garth Tander are yet to qualifying out of the top 10 after five rounds, with the former taking two successive pole positions at Winton and Eastern Creek and the latter’s sixth place at the ‘Creek his first time out of the top three starting spots all season.

2. Mark Skaife’s return to form at Eastern Creek – where he broke the record of the late Peter Brock for most round wins in the Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar Championship Series – also saw the first Holden Racing Team 1-2 round result since Oran Park’s Round 7 in 2002. On that day, Skaife led home then team-mate Jason Bright. The duo also ran 1-2 at the Hidden Valley round earlier that season. Skaife has never finished outside the top 10 at Hidden Valley in nine starts and hasn’t started off the front row of the grid there since 1999.

3. Speaking of Skaife and Bright, the duo has had a mortgage on pole position at Hidden Valley. Over the past six years, no other driver has sat on pole position for the event, with Bright breaking a six-year streak of HRT poles at the circuit last year while driving for FPR. Bright, now driving for his own Britek squad in the #25 Fujitsu Falcon, has qualified in the top 10 for the last two rounds in a body shell leased to his team by Team BOC after his regular car was damaged in a practice accident at Barbagallo’s second round of the Series.

4. WPS Racing’s Jason Bargwanna is heading to Hidden Valley fresh from his best qualifying performance for the year of 12th at the Eastern Creek round. The former Bathurst winner was runner-up to Russell Ingall in the inaugural Hidden Valley round in 1998 (and finished equal on points only to lose the win on a count back) but hasn’t had anywhere near the same sort of luck since, although he did finish 10th at the event last year to go with two other top 10 results (in 1999 and 2001).

5. The overwhelming domination of the HRT and Toll HSV Commodores on the Holden side of the fence leaves Greg Murphy as the best non ‘Clayton’ car in a distant 13th in the Championship. The Kiwi, whose best result this year was fourth in the wet at Winton despite retiring from one of the races, has had a miserable time of things the last few years at Hidden Valley. Qualifying performances of 25th, 24th and 17th over the last three years can only be buoyed by the speed shown by his team-mate Jason Richards, who finished fourth overall last year and a flying second behind Craig Lowndes in the final race.

6. Jim Beam Racing’s Steven Johnson is again piecing together a very consistent season in the #17 Falcon. The Gold Coaster sits seventh in points entering Hidden Valley with a season-best result of fourth at Barbagallo in round two. But Hidden Valley has never been a happy hunting ground for Johnson, who has never qualified in the top 10 there (best of 13th in 2002) and only finished in the top 10 once – fifth in 2005.

7. Team BOC’s Simon Wills, who has replaced Brad Jones in the #14 Falcon from Winton onwards, is the fastest man to ever lap the Hidden Valley circuit. The Kiwi, who finished sixth in Darwin in a Team Dynamik Commodore in 2003, zoomed around to stop the clocks at 1m02.9268s in a Formula Holden open wheeler in 2001.

8. Wills’ Team BOC team-mate Andrew Jones will celebrate his 27th birthday on the Sunday of Hidden Valley. The 2004 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series Champion isn’t the only driver to celebrate a birthday around the Darwin round, as TeamVodafone’s Craig Lowndes hits 33 on the Thursday of race week.

9. Ford will be looking to fight back at Hidden Valley, with Holden winning 13 of the 14 individual races held so far. Jamie Whincup’s win in race one at Winton stands as the only Ford victory of the 2007 Championship. Things are slightly more balanced in the fight for pole positions, with Holden taking three and Ford two.

10. There are four drivers who are yet to race in a V8 Supercar at Hidden Valley. Jack Daniel’s duo Jack Perkins and Shane Price can add the circuit to their list of ‘never been there before’, while Fabian Coulthard and Alan Gurr have never raced V8s there but have competed in the Territory before in Carrera Cup.

2006 Hidden Valley Round Result:

1. Craig Lowndes, Betta Falcon BA, 304 pts
2. Garth Tander, Toll HSV Commodore VZ, 282 pts
3. Rick Kelly, Toll HSV Commodore VZ, 282 pts
4. Jason Richards, Tasman Commodore VZ, 270 pts
5. Mark Winterbottom, FPR Falcon BA, 252 pts
6. Mark Skaife, HRT Commodore VZ, 246 pts
7. Russell Ingall, Caltex Falcon BA, 240 pts
8. Jason Bright, CAT FPR Falcon BA, 216 pts
9. Cameron McConville, Supercheap Auto Commodore VZ, 210 pts
10. Jason Bargwanna, WPS Falcon BA, 184 pts
Qualifying Lap Record: Jason Bright, HRT Holden Commodore VX, 1m07.8546s, 2002
2006 Pole Position: Jason Bright, FPR Ford Falcon BA, 1m09.0322s
Current Lap Record: Jason Bright, Pirtek/SBR Ford Falcon AU, 1m09.0149s, 1999

Previous Hidden Valley Round Winners

1998 Russell Ingall Castrol Perkins Holden Commodore VT
1999 Jason Bright Pirtek/SBR Ford Falcon AU
2000 Mark Skaife HRT Holden Commodore VT
2001 Marcos Ambrose Pirtek/SBR Ford Falcon AU
2002 Mark Skaife HRT Holden Commodore VX
2003 Marcos Ambrose Pirtek/SBR Ford Falcon BA
2004 Todd Kelly HRT Holden Commodore VY
2005 Todd Kelly HRT Holden Commodore VZ
2006 Craig Lowndes Betta/Triple Eight Ford Falcon BA
2 – Mark Skaife, Marcos Ambrose, Todd Kelly
1 – Jason Bright, Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes

Previous Hidden Valley Pole Position Winners:

1998 Jason Bright Pirtek/SBR Ford Falcon EL
1999 Glenn Seton FTR Ford Falcon AU
2000 Craig Lowndes HRT Holden Commodore VT
2001 Mark Skaife HRT Holden Commodore VX
2002 Jason Bright HRT Holden Commodore VX
2003 Mark Skaife HRT Holden Commodore VY
2004 Mark Skaife HRT Holden Commodore VY
2005 Mark Skaife HRT Holden Commodore VZ
2006 Jason Bright CAT/FPR Ford Falcon BA
4 – Mark Skaife
3 – Jason Bright
1 – Glenn Seton, Craig Lowndes

The board of V8 Supercars Australia did not meet at the Eastern Creek round of the Championship in Sydney at the weekend as reported . Only this board has the power to make such a decision, if it were to be made.

This is the position of V8 Supercars Australia in all matters on this issue.

TKR owner David John said their All Black Ford will definitely be on the start line for the next round in Darwin but there was insufficient time to convert a leased Ford to the V8 Supercar specifications.

"There’s just too much to do and there’s a real shortage of the necessary parts to get this car up to the right specification in time," David John said.

"We have to be at scrutineering this afternoon at Eastern Creek and we just can’t make that deadline now. We made the decision late last night that we could no finish the project in time.

"We will push ahead though and we will have our Team Kiwi Racing car on the race track for the next round in Darwin.

"But I have notified V8 Supercars Australia that we won’t be there this weekend. We will accept what ever fine they determine."

Mr John said the only way they could have made it on to the start line today was to lease a race-ready Holden which was available.

"Team Kiwi Racing honours its obligations and we have a contract to race a Ford and that’s what we will stick to, even though it is going to cost us a fine of up to $150,000."

This will be determined by the Board of TEGA (Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia).

Mr John said he has been inundated with offers of support from sponsors, fans and motorsport folk including Pukekohe race car specialist David Mills who had been working closely with the Australian company Prodigy Motorsport to convert the car.

"When it became clear last night that it was not possible to get the car up to specification in time for scrutineering we decided it was not worth David Mills and his team heading to Sydney.

"But we are hugely appreciative of their support and that from Race Image Prodigy Motorsport in Australia."

Prodigy Motorsport said it was going to be a mammoth effort to convert the car. "Race Image and Prodigy Motorsport were excited with the possibility of helping Team Kiwi Racing to provide a BF Falcon to compete in Eastern Creek," a company spokesman said. "This would have seen Team Kiwi Racing and the Prodigy team undertake approximately 240 man hours and $40,000 of work over 36 hours to meet the strict scrutineering regime. "Unfortunately we ran out of time to complete the work in time."

Prodigy Motorsport with the support of David Mills and his team have informed TKR that they can to convert the car in time for Darwin.

Mr John is flying to Sydney on Sunday to meet with V8 Supercar Australia officials and Race Image Prodigy Motorsport about future plans and attend Eastern Creek round.

“TKR is in breach of contract and I have therefore terminated my contract with immediate effect,” Radisich confirmed today from his base in Melbourne.

Cochrane said he was absolutely delighted with how well Hamilton Mayor Michael Redman and event promoters CSM Limited have performed so far.

And he said if early crowd figures for this weekend’s final round of the V8 Supercars at Pukekohe were anything to go by it would be a raging success.

“We had a record crowd here last year and this year if Friday’s crowd – well over 30,000 - is anything to go by we’re in for a massive weekend,” he said.

“That’s phenomenal to think that we’ve been coming to New Zealand for seven years that we could draw that sort of crowd for a practice day on Friday is absolutely outstanding.

“That crowd yesterday to put it into some perspective was bigger than the entire crowd at the A1 Grand Prix back in January. That’s a wonderful endorsement of V8 Supercars.”

Redman admitted he was glad to finally be talking about the street race as a reality.

“It’s great to finally be in a position to be able to talk about the street race as a reality rather than a concept,” he said.

And Cochrane believes the Hamilton street race will help increase the popularity of V8 Supercars in New Zealand.

He also revealed that a bidding war is underway for the TV rights to the V8 Supercars in New Zealand.

“Many of you will not be aware at the moment we are renegotiating or TV rights for New Zealand and for the first time ever we have all three major networks bidding for those rights and bidding very strongly,” he said.

“We plan to announce a new five year TV arrangement probably towards the middle part of June this year and obviously those arrangements will commence with the opening round next year.”

Resource consent for the first year of the Hamilton street race will limit numbers to 155,000 people over the three days of racing.

And Cochrane said he expected the event would have no problem drawing that many people in to Hamilton.

“I think for the first time ever New Zealanders will understand the pulling power of a street race,” he said.

“I don’t think there is going to be any question we will have a three day crowd well in excess of 150,000.

“I’m sure that the only problem the good citizens of Hamilton will have will be the town will be very full and everyone will be kept extremely busy for that week. We’re certainly looking forward to Hamilton.”

Redman said he hoped Hamilton would turn on a carnival atmosphere that would rival any major sporting event around the world.

“It is important to remember that the city council is not putting on the event,” he said. “CMS Limited are the promoter.

“But we are very keen for them to put on an event that is much broader than the motor racing event. They’ve made a commitment already to concerts in the evening, to a community day on the Thursday.

“There will be other events as in Adelaide which we will be reproducing. There will be a lot of peripheral activity.

“A really good example of how it is done well in New Zealand is the Sevens tournament in Wellington. We’d be looking to beat that.”

The street race looks set to be run in March or April next year.

“It’s a good time of the year,” Cochrane said. “We think late March through April is a good time of the year. It works well for us and the promoter. I see no reason why it won’t be in that window for many years to come.”

For further information:

Ian Hepenstall
Sports Media NZ

Ph: 0275 613181
E: ianhep@xtra.co.nz