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Anderson entertains the crowd at Manfeild

The Manawatu turned on some scorching weather for the NZV8 test sessions on Saturday.  The track temperature was 50 degrees and the cabin reached 48 degrees. Chasing the conditions, the ITM Racing team worked hard to get the car in the window but balance and rear grip were proving elusive.

Heading into qualifying, the changes made between the sessions were proving positive.  Electing to make one further change mid session, it was out for a quick reference lap before pitting for green tyres.

With the session three quarters gone, Andrew was about to leave the pits when the session was red flagged.  Lining up first in the queue, there was four and a half minutes remaining – enough for two flying laps.  However, as there was substantial damage to the tyre wall, the officials cancelled the remainder of the session and moved on to the top ten shootout.

“Sitting 19^th and not completing a green tyre run was disappointing but that’s racing.  On the upside, the car showed improved pace which I’m confident to use moving forward in the pack in race 1” said Andrew.

Starting from 18^th in race 1, the plan was to take a conservative approach and see how the race developed.  On the run to the first turn, a line opened down the outside and gained several spots.  With the car performing better, Andrew was able to race well and hold position.  Towards the end of the race, a further couple of positions were gained through others falling off the track.  A late race caution turned into a red flag and shortened race to retrieve a stranded McIntyre.  Andrew gained ten places to finish 8^th and had a great battle with McLaughlin.

With a top ten start in race 2, the team made minor adjustments to the car for the hotter conditions.  Rolling to the start, Andrew got a good start and bump drafted Booth to the first turn.  Drag racing Baird to turn 7, Andrew got around on the inside holding position.  Through the infield on lap 2, Baird got ahead into Splash but checked up unexpectedly. Trying to avoid making contact, Andrew pinched the rears and spun in front of the pack.  Reverting to reverse driving, Andrew was able to roll backwards into turn 3 and get to the outside of the track unscathed.

Rejoining at the back of the field, Andrew pressed on to finish 20th but suffered from a lack of rear grip and power down.

With a grid ten start for race 3, it showed that even though the team was having a challenging weekend, others were fearing worse.  With further tuning and green tyres, it was all out to push for a top result.  Getting boxed in at the start, Andrew got picked off and squeezed back.  Once the race settled down, Andrew was aided by the changes which gave him a car to fight those around him.

Andrew spent the remainder of the race duelling for position with defending champion Baird.  Lacking some straight line speed, Andrew was unable to progress further and finished 15^th – a sign of how tough this series is when you are battling it out with the defending champion for 15^th.

“The conditions in the car pushed 48 degrees with the outside temps reaching 27 degrees.  My left foot was getting burnt on the floor so I was relieved to see the chequered flag.”

“It was a great effort for the team to get some handling improvements effected during the day.  It was a battle royal out there today and it was good to race some of the top guys out there” said Andrew.

Andrew finished the round in 17^th position and is in 15^th position on the championship ladder.

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