Multiple champion McCall ready for 'combat'
McCALL PREPARES FOR ‘COMBAT’ AT CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
• New car quicker than a Commodore R8 - on any surface
• Short course set to deliver spectacular action
• Multiple champion’s ‘hundy’ challenge
Tony McCall is relishing the prospect of two days of wheel-to-wheel race action at the final round of the national championship and has a special challenge for one of his key rivals.
Multiple New Zealand offroad racing champion McCall is preparing his all-new race car – which will out-accelerate an R8 Commodore or FPV Falcon on any surface – for ‘combat’ at the national championship final round next week.
He has won every significant offroad race and championship outright title in New Zealand, and says the prospect of racing against the fastest drivers in the sport is what motivates him above all else.
“I don’t need more trophies – my wife long ago banished my trophies to the garage – and racing point to point rally-style isn’t really my thing. So the national finals will be fantastic, two days of race action of a very spectacular farm course against the best in the sport,” he says.
New car quicker than a Commodore R8 - on any surface
The 2012 season has been difficult for the Manukau-based blond racer, who has developed an all-new car unique in the sport with the support of BSL Racing and Scott Buckley.
The BSL Terra Chev features formula-car styling, a mid-mounted 6.2-litre Chev V8 and Mendeola transaxle gearbox. It has been designed with winning in mind, and has the lowest centre of gravity of any car currently competing.
The new car’s engine shares engine DNA with GM Holden’s high performance R8 Commodore, but at half the weight will out-accelerate ‘the General’s finest on any surface.
“I just love this car. It weighs the same as my previous Cougar VW but has twice the power and more than twice the torque – and it’s so rewarding to drive. It will out-accelerate a Commodore R8 on dirt or seal and it’s so much fun to drive in wheel to wheel combat!”
Development and fine tuning - ironing out the all-new car’s ‘bugs’ - has taken as long as McCall expected and has not been without its frustrations. A DNF on debut at the first round at Manukau was followed by partial success at Mangawhai over Easter, where the car was significantly faster in both short course (stadium) racing and the second day’s 175 km endurance race. Only a wrecked cv joint stopped McCall from taking victory in the enduro, where he had developed a lead of two laps over his nearest rival. The third northern round at Woodhill saw the BSL car comfortably on pole and leading the race until a mechanical failure in the transmission forced McCall out.
“That was diabolical, but we did expect to have some issues getting the car sorted. My previous car took 18 months to get into winning trim – this car is immediately in winning form but these reliability issues have slowed our charge for the title.”
Short course set to deliver spectacular action
It’s the cut and thrust of the short course racing that excites McCall above all else, and he says he is relishing the chance to ‘let fly’ in the Saturday race action.
“I learned my racecraft in Speedway at Western Springs in Auckland, and that’s what I love the most, I like to see my rivals and evaluate their weaknesses and then go wheel to wheel into the corners. That is what racing is about,” he says.
McCall slaps down a ‘hundy’ challenge
Going into the final round McCall has had the transmission out of the car for an upgrade from the USA aimed at fixing the issues that stopped him at Woodhill, and in classic McCall style is issuing a ‘run for the ton’ challenge to arch-rival Daniel Powell in the South Island.
“Daniel’s won a championship a few years ago, and this year he took the enduro championship title off me because we couldn’t get the car sorted in time to go defend it. But I think we have the legs of Mr Powell and I am challenging him to come to the finals with a hundred dollar note. My ‘hundy’ says he needs to come race with the big boys, and it goes in his wallet if we don’t lap him in the enduro on the second day of the final round.”
McCall says he expects competition at the finals to be strong – but he’s not convinced Powell will show up.
“There’s a massive difference between point to point driving and wheel to wheel racing, and I want to race the best and win. If we can’t get it together for the finals then I’ll re-issue the challenge for the New Zealand Short Course Championship at Palmerston North in November. I love racing down there, they really know how to put on a great race meeting,” he says.