Wet & Wild - The perfect cliche for the nal day at Pukekohe

Conditions for Race day two at Pukekohe Park Raceway could never be classed as a dry - not even if you counted the short bursts of sunshine that allowed the punters to drop umbrellas. Four seasons in one day is not unusual for the Auckland region, and those who can adapt to those conditions best in the UDC V8 Utes are the ones who see the most success - for 99% of the weekend James 'Huggi' Urquhart was in that camp.

Given that he would be starting from 9th position on the Grid for the rst of the days two races (thanks to the marble draw system) and also taking into account that Pukekohe doesn't tend to lend itself much too passing, it was a positive result to see the Mitre 10 Trade Racing machine move rapidly into 5th place during that race. However from there it wasn't going to be his top form that would see him move further up the grid, but a drive that would be considered gutsy to hold the Ute in that part of the eld. The problem that Huggi would face was due to a small lockup of the tyres going into turn 2, and from there a subsequent at spot on a front tyre. He also had to deal with some kind of issue to the steering, and that meant the Ute was going to struggle to turn right - and the problem with that is Pukekohe is 90% right hand turns. For seven more laps Huggi had to wrestle 1.8 tons of Holden around the circuit, with not only vibration and handling issues to deal with, but a bunch of other V8 Utes chomping on his tailpipe. On lap ve it was Andrew Waite who was able to take advantage of Huggi's personal battle as they went side by side over the hill, continuing down along the front straight - with Huggi nally having to concede the position in the nal metres before turn 1. From there it was simply a matter of holding on for three more laps where he was able to pull a gap from the remainder of the eld, never really allowing them to challenge his position any further, and he nally crossed the line in 6th position - a total of 3 spots gained from the original grid. When the second race of the afternoon nally arrived it was atrocious conditions awaiting the teams. The weather had set in hard and the rain was making life very treacherous for those who had to pedal the Utes around what is normally a high speed circuit - this time it was going to be a slow, wet and terrifying circuit.

The weekend results so far had earned Huggi a 2nd row, 4th on the grid starting position, and when the lights went green Huggi was able to do one particular thing that he is very good at - starting. In the pouring rain he immediately gained 2 spots, and by the second turn he was in front, however a piece of sideways action coming out of turn 3 meant he and Chris Hanley would be mirror to mirror down the back straight. From there it was what can only be described as a disaster for the team as Huggi lost his vision, due to a fogging windscreen. Not only did he have to live with the pain of Utes going past him as he drove blind, but he was having to drive by looking out the drivers door window, following the white line on the side of the track with occasional excursions onto the puddled and dangerous grass verges. Naturally due to the safety issue he had to pit for the crew to clear the screen - in one lap he had gone from 4th to 1st to 2nd to last, a crushing blow onto what had been a stellar weekend so far.

From there it got worse, not only for the Mitre 10 Trade Racing Team but the entire racing eld. One of the Kernohan Utes had come off the track at terminal velocity and damaged the safety fencing - and that called for a yellow ag and the safety car. Given that the rest of the race would be run behind the safety car while the fence was being repaired and no positional changes could happen during that period, the race was declared complete. That of course meant a last place for the orange and black machine - certainly not a position that was deserved having gone into that last race in 4th overall, and immediately challenging for the lead and weekend honours.

Post race while disappointed with the results there was the safety to consider. "That was #@%# scary!" claimed Huggi "I have never been that afraid to be in a car before!" and the conclusion was also the same from Brett Rudd who shares some of the garage facilities with the Mitre 10 Trade Racing Team. "Given that this is my rst season of racing and I have nothing to compare it too - I'd still have give it an 11 though on the 1 to 10 fear factor scale!" said Rudd, and a quick run up and down the rest of the garages had many of the other drivers giving a similar response. And so race three was to end a weekend of high's with a solemn low. In saying that, there was an enormous selection of positives to be taken from it. The Mitre 10 Trade Racing Team have proven their ability to ght for trophy honours, and they have also managed to make their presence known to the rest of the category, the Motorsport fraternity, and the fan base as a whole. The next mission is to take the positive aspects and turn them into even stronger ones at the next round - coming from the Christchurch based Ruapuna circuit on the weekend of 9, 10, 11 December.

For more information please visit > facebook.com/mitre10traderacing For other enquiries please contact > Craig Lord 027 273 4156 craig@ontrackmedia.co.nz