R12S RACE 1 - Larko wins battle, Skaife the war
10/11/2001 17:13 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Torrential rain and an under-funded Queensland bolter have spoilt the Kiwis’ party at Pukekohe Park Raceway this afternoon.
Mark Larkham emerged as one of the season’s most unlikely winners in a rain-shortened opening race for the NZ V8 International, charging through from 17th to claim just his second Shell Series race win.
In a controversial finish, the heavens opened late in the race and forced the field into pitlane for wet weather tyres.
Larkham remained in circulation on slick tyres, but slid off the circuit into the wall on lap 31. His car, along with a number of other stranded vehicles, instigated a red flag moments after.
Reminiscent of this year’s Queensland 500, officials took results from the previous complete lap, declaring Larkham the winner.
A “dumbfounded” Greg Murphy finished the race in the lead yet was relegated to second. The team will consider lodging a protest after reviewing the timing data.
Pirtek Racing’s Marcos Ambrose was faultless in finishing third.
Larkham won the battle, but Mark Skaife won the war. Skaife’s fourth this afternoon sealed an historic and richly deserved fourth Shell Series Championship crown.
The late-race downpour produced a number of surprising results.
Kiwi bolter Jason Richards finished an amazing fifth – easily Team Kiwi Racing’s best race result, and achieved on home soil.
Tony Longhurst recorded his best result for the Rod Nash Racing team in claiming seventh, while privateer campaigners Anthony Tratt and Tomas Mezera were thrilled with their twelfth and thirteenth respectively.
The CAT Racing team gambled and almost won, as local boy Simon Wills came within a few laps of winning the race.
Wills, after falling back to 24th following a first lap altercation, delayed his compulsory pit stop and fought back to eventually take the lead on lap 11. He built a 17-second lead over Greg Murphy before making his stop for tyres on lap 25.
But fitting slicks to the CAT Falcon proved a costly mistake, as the rain forced Wills back into pitlane for grooved tread. He finished in 14th.
“If we had of put wets on, things would have been perfect, but there was also every chance the track would stay dry and then we would be nowhere,” a philosophical Wills said.
A four-car pile-up on the opening lap saw Jason Bright slammed from behind by Craig Lowndes, and Glenn Seton and Russell Ingall becoming innocent victims. Seton (along with teammate, Steven Richards) failed to finish the race, while the others limped home to finish well down the order.
Seton’s Ford Tickford Racing team, along with Larkham Motorsport, will be working all night to repair their cars for tomorrow’s final two 100km races.
>> RACE ONE – TOP TEN >>
1st MARK LARKHAM (Larkham Motortsport) - AU Falcon
2nd GREG MURPHY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
3rd MARCOS AMBROSE (Pirtek Racing) - AU Falcon
4th MARK SKAIFE (Holden Racing Team) - VX Commodore
5th JASON RICHARDS (Team Kiwi Racing) - VT Commodore
6th RUSSELL INGALL (Perkins Motorsport) - VX Commodore
7th TONY LONGHURST (Rod Nash Racing) - VX Commodore
8th GARTH TANDER (Valvoline Cummins Repco Team) - VX Commodore
9th STEVEN JOHNSON (Shell Helix Racing) - AU Falcon
10th TODD KELLY (K-Mart Racing Team) - VX Commodore
For complete race results:
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?11/11/2001.PUK
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