Coulthard doubles up
Sunday 8 April 2012, 5:05PM
By V8 Supertourers New Zealand
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V8 SuperTourer debutant Fabian Coulthard has eased to his second comfortable win of the weekend at the Powerbuilt Tools Raceway,Ruapuna Park.
Standing in for a receiving Greg Murphy, Coulthard made it two out of two with a lights to flag victory - once again demonstrating a consistent three or four tenths of s second advantage over the field in the M3 racing Mike Pero-backed Holden Commodore.
"The car is awesome, it handles beautifully and we are working very well as a team," said Coulthard. "All the pieces of the puzzle are together, we are doing everything right and we are getting the results for it."
It was all action at Turn 1 on the rolling start with the cars bunching heavily into the corner. It all went wrong for Geoff Emery - who started a promising ninth in the second Supercheap Holden - when he was hit hard in the traffic. The contact turned him round and he was hit broadside by an innocent Colin Corkery, removing the rear passenger door of the car and forcing Corkery into the pits with frontal damage that forced his retirement.
"Apparently you have to win the race on the first lap," said a hugely disappointed Emery. "I was waiting in the train like everyone else does and someone ran out of talent. They got me good and it didn't seem like they were planning on going round the corner."
Front row starter John McIntyre lost out to both championship leader Jonny Reid and evergreen Craig Baird at the start, and was unable to challenge during the twenty lap race. Reid was clearly trying hard to stay on terms with Coulthard, and enjoyed a few car lengths gap ahead of Baird's United Video Falcon as he gave chase.
The man on the move in the race was young ace Scott McLaughlin - starting from the back in the Supercheap Holden after an overnight engine change. He was up to ninth by lap four and continued progress at a rapid rate, moving quickly to eighth and then seventh after local boy Andy Knight retired, forcing a safety car while the Gulf Ford was removed from the circuit's edge. That took McLaughlin up to sixth with Kayne Scott in his sights and Ant Pedersen in his rear view mirrors.
With one lap to go, Pedersen made a brave move round the outside, taking McLaughlin and at the same time preventing a charging Andy Booth from sneaking a place. The three duelled for the last lap but the order remained the same at the flag.
Coulthard took maximum points for the win and fastest lap, with Reid second and Baird a solid third.
Result – V8 SuperTourers Round 2, Powerbuilt Tools Raceway, Ruapuna Park - April 8th
Pos No. Gap
1 51 Fabian Coulthard 31:32.262
2 2 Jonny Reid 1.731
3 27 Craig Baird 2.104
4 47 John McIntyre 3.327
5 99 Kayne Scott 5.827
6 96 Ant Pedersen 7.175
7 93 Scott McLaughlin 7.732
8 23 Andy Booth 7.821
9 556 Steven Richards 8.939
10 69 Eddie Bell 9.324
11 15 Paul Manuell 10.578
12 10 Richard Moore 11.840
13 22 Andre Heimgartner 13.279
14 12 Geoff Emery 15.480
Not classified (75% = 15 Laps)
DNF 5 Andy Knight 7 laps (engine)
DNF 66 Colin Corkery 0 laps (accident)