Baird heads 'home' to take on Pukekohe
13/4/2005 23:22 (Press Release) -
Wright Patton Shakespeare Racing ace, Craig Baird, returns to his native New Zealand this week for the Pukekohe V8 International – the second round of the V8 Supercar Championship.
The 32-year-old knows the fast-flowing Pukekohe track like his own backyard and in many ways it is. Alongside fellow Kiwi V8 driver, Greg Murphy, Baird has clocked up more kilometers on the circuit than any other driver in the series.
“I would have done more laps on that track than Murph, I’m older,” joked Baird, who now calls the Gold Coast home.
“Pukekohe holds a lot of memories for me, I first raced there in Formula Ford when I was 15.”
After recently winning the Porsche GT3 Cup in New Zealand, Baird is brimming with confidence as he prepares to race in front of his old home crowd but concedes that local knowledge is just a small part of what’s required to win races.
“It’s not a technical track like Phillip Island, it’s just fast and quite bumpy, so experience there doesn’t equate to much,” he said.
“The Kiwi fans are very passionate about their motorsport and when I was with Team Kiwi, they just loved it, but they are very patriotic and will support all kiwi drivers in the championship. This race comes down to horsepower, so hopefully we will have plenty of that on the day.”
WPS Racing teammate, David Besnard, said he will be more than comfortable to let Baird pass if he’s faster at Pukekohe.
“We are not at the point where we are racing for the championship, so if he’s quicker over there I’ll let him go and vice versa,” said Besnard.
“There’s not a lot to the track but it’s very fast. It’s ballsy and a lot will come down to horsepower, but I enjoy it over there, it rewards having a go.”
Besnard, who was running 12th during the last round at the Adelaide Clipsal 500 before engine problems on lap 62, said he was confident of improved results in the ‘land of the long white cloud’.
“We should see more gains in New Zealand after getting more horsepower out of the car, but there’s a lot more to come,” he said.
WPS Racing is a Gold Coast outfit relishing in its second year in the ultra-competitive V8 Supercar Championship and is controlled by businessman Craig Gore.
WPS Racing were recently announced as the naming rights sponsor for the Porsche Cup, a category dominated for years by veteran Jim Richards, and also as sponsor for the all-conquering Aussie Racers.
Release Date: 13/04/2005
WPS Racing
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