V8S
NZ Utes: Chris Pither Manfeild Park preview
Published: Feb 9, 2011, 10:43 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
THE GYPSY COMES HOME
Chris Pither 'The Gypsy' comes home this weekend when he contests Round 5 of the ENZED V8 Ute Challenge at Manfeild Park in Feilding.
Pither, originally from Palmerston North but now based in Queensland, is looking forward to racing at home in front of family, friends and supporters as the V8 Utes battle it out on the New Zealand Grand Prix programme at the Manawatu circuit.
Pither enters the round lying third in the series in the Gallagher XR8 Falcon as he fights to defend the title he won in convincing style last year. This year has been a contrasting one for the champion, a series of mishaps and disappointments making for a tough season to date. However 'The Gypsy' is determined to fight back and try to close the gap to series leader Caine Lobb over the final three rounds of the championship.
Many of the issues encountered in the series to date have centred around the rear axle and diff with several frustrating failures at various times during the series. However the Western Motors crew have gone all out to avoid a repetition this weekend. "We have put a new rear end in from scratch for this round," says Chris. "It has been a different component that has failed each time so we are going to be safe not sorry. We have fitted an upgraded driveshaft, the same as the unit used in Australia." It was a snapped axle that cost Chris valuable points in the opening race at Timaru last time out and the problems have been evident at every round to date.
Coming into this round with the hope that the mechanical issues are behind him means Chris is looking forward to the weekend. "Manfeild wasn't part of the series last year so I am looking forward to competing there. It is my home track and it will be great to race in front of friends and and family. There are three rounds left and I am looking at chipping away at Caine's lead."
After testing on Friday qualifying at the 3.03 kilometre track is scheduled for 11.40am on Saturday morning. Pither and the Gallagher XR8 Falcon have been the fastest in qualifying at every round in the series and Chris will no doubt be keen to extend that record on Saturday. The first race of the round is scheduled for 4.00pm on Saturday afternoon. Two races follow on Sunday, the first like Saturday's race is over 8 laps, while the third and final contest, scheduled for 1.10pm on Sunday is to be fought out over 12 laps.
A troublefree weekend would be the perfect homecoming for 'The Gypsy'.
Support for Chris in his ENZED V8 Ute Challenge title defence comes from the Gallagher Group, ENZED, KDTraining.com, Cairns Bins and Maldon Salt.
-source: pither/beer
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article AUS Utes: Andrew Jones joins V8 Ute Team for 2011
Next article NZ Utes: Series Manfeild Park race 1 report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Chris Pither
Supercars driver makes Porsche switch
Supercars
Supercars
Supercars driver makes Porsche switch
PremiAir Racing announces Pither exit
Supercars
Supercars
PremiAir Racing announces Pither exit
PremiAir Racing cuts maiden test short
Supercars
Supercars
PremiAir Racing cuts maiden test short
Latest news
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
1 h
Jesse Love barely holds off Sam Mayer for NASCAR O'Reilly win at Phoenix
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
4 h
Lando Norris faces anxious wait as F2 prepares to decide future of his racing team
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
5 h
NASCAR Cup Phoenix starting lineup: Blaney earns pole as Larson struggles
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
6 h
Ryan Blaney kind of faces a must-win scenario this weekend at Phoenix
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe