Team USA First Test in New Zeland

[Zinger]

Americans Display Great Promise in First New Zealand Test Three talented young American racers enjoyed a very promising first test session today in preparation for the forthcoming six-race Talley’s New Zealand International Formula Ford Series. Joe D’Agostino, 18, from Plantation, Fla., Charlie Kimball, 18, from Camarillo, Calif., and Ryan Millen, 19, from Newport Beach, Calif., put the trio of Team USA Scholarship-entered Stealth/Van Diemens through their paces at Ruapuna Park Raceway and left local team owner John Crawford astounded by their speed and attitude.

"I’m really impressed -- extremely impressed," declared Crawford, himself a former New Zealand Formula Ford Champion whose Canterbury Motor Racing School team will oversee the preparation of the Americans’ cars. "The boys settled in very quickly and were on the pace right away. They’ll be a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure."

In very warm weather and far from ideal track conditions, D’Agostino turned the fastest lap of the day at 1m30.2s, an average speed of 85.31 mph, which is within a half-second of the lap record for the 2.14-mile (3.44 kms) track. Kimball also turned some very competitive times during the hotter afternoon period, while Millen was equally impressive despite getting started a little bit later and ending his day early due to an engine problem.

"It was a really good first day of testing," said D’Agostino. "The team did a good job and it was great to start working with our engineer, Andy Neale [also a leading Formula Ford contender in the early 1990s who later worked as a chief mechanic with 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve and the BAR Honda team]. We all got along very well and were able to compare data and learn from each other."

"It took me a little time to reacclimate myself with a carbureted engine," added Kimball, who finished third in this year’s Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship in the U.S. and more recently placed third in the British Formula Ford Zetec Winter Series. "It has a big flat spot compared to the fuel-injected motors I’m used to, but I’m getting there. It’s good that I can sit down tonight and think about things, then get ready for our next test tomorrow morning.

"This is a great track," continued Kimball. "It’s really technical and it’s got a little of everything – some long, sweeping corners, some fast tight stuff and some tight, twisty hairpin corners. There’s a little bit of elevation change too; just enough to make it interesting."

Said Millen, who won last year’s New Zealand South Island Formula Ford Championship, "I didn’t get much time in the car and we still have an older-spec engine in it right now. All things considered, it was good to get back in the car, and I’m looking forward to getting some more miles tomorrow."

The Americans will test again for half a day at Ruapuna tomorrow, then enjoy the New Year celebrations before going on to test at Levels Raceway, Timaru, on Saturday. The first two races of the International series will take place at Timaru on January 11, with subsequent events at Invercargill’s Teretonga Park Raceway (for the prestigious New Zealand Grand Prix) on January 18 and then a return to Ruapuna for the final two races on January 25.

[Peter Walsh]

Time to be nasty.Cigars on wheels.Who cares.The NZ Grand Prix is the only race in the world I have heard of that stops for half an hour in the middle of the race for tea bickies and fuel and then restarts for the second half.Too bad if your five laps in front at half time.Whats prestigious about a grand prix run like a game of football.

[pete55]

Australian organizers of FF and F3 should look at doing something like that too.

[GTRMagic]

Well the FF festival died in the bum due to lack of support/teev/funding... not sure it will be resurrected in a hurry :

[Zinger]

Sound like the Hot Dog Break at some events in the US.

[Peter Walsh]

It would be a lot more entertaining to see the cigars lined up and watch a transporter jump contest.Mind you we have to spend the summer with these guys so I might have to learn to appreciate the fine art of the grand prix in two halves.

[pete55]

Shyte, don't tell TC you have a transporer jump contest.

[Zinger]

May be this is done with the donut King Van?

[GTRMagic]

Ah, so thats what the jet engine in the back is for....

[prn 31]

Someone help me out here because I'm a tad confused! :confused:

Is the long running New Zealand Grand Prix now for Formula Fords, and run "Macau style" in two heats?

Seriously, if this is the case, for the sake of its illustrious past, the GP should be put on ice until something better, like a competitive F3 field, comes along.

Funny, we're hearing the same thing said about our Australian Gold Star ....

[pete55]

Realistically FF doesn't really deserve a Grand Prix. F3 would suffice though.

[Armco Bender]

The NZ Grand Prix trophy has names on it like Moss,Brabham,Stewart,Clark,Hill,Bira,Amon,Rosberg......

Formula Ford sadly does it no justice,maybe a few more years it will be held in karts.

[Peter Walsh]

Its not really in two heats you just have a break read a book line back up and go again.Its a disgrace.Only upside is they make them go all the way to the bottom of the earth (Invercargill)to do it.

[Zinger]

Is it a refueling thing?

[Aircon]

The New Zealand Formula 3 Grand Prix.

We would definitely make the trip over for that!

[GTRMagic]

If the F4000pbH were so good, how come they werent the headline act for the NZ GP?

[Peter Walsh]

yes it is a refuelling thing.Still dumb though.Spose it also fills in some time until the 8's come back out.

[Armco Bender]

The New Zealand Formula 3 Grand Prix.

They should have gone to F3 instead of Atlantics back in the '70s,there should be an Asia/Pacific F3 to co-incide with the European off-season,they could get some great racing and names of the future down here.
But that would make too much sense,best every country runs completely different Formulas.

They used to do that 2 heat thing back in the Atlanic days,it was a load of **** then too,the guy who finished 2nd in both heats usually finished up winning the thing if you had 2 different heat winners.A Grand Prix should be one long race,preferably in half decent racing cars.

[GTRMagic]

How big is a fuel tank on an F3... as in how many kilometres could it do on a full tank?

[Aircon]

It's at least 30L to a tank. I'm not sure, I've never filled one up all the way and that's as much as we've ever run in one hit. Fuel consumption is about 4km/L.

An F3 can do 25 laps (plus parade lap, etc.) at Ruapuna easily. That's about a 30min. race.

[Peter Walsh]

I have no issue with refueling.In most of the western motor racing world its called a pit stop.Maybe the cigars on wheels have yet to work it out.There will be approx 6000 bodies at Invergiggle so you would think you could find someone to pour in the go juice.Stop me.Extremely poor excuse for a race.

[Zinger]

The FFord do have drt brake sysstems so the race would have to be stoped to refuel then restarted.

[Peter Walsh]

Back to the original plan.Line 'em up and let the transporters loose.After all it is a spectator sport.Can't believe these **** boxes get me so emotive.I guess it is just cause they are so nowhere.

[105octane]

The Lady Wigram Trophy now run for F3 cars should become the NZ Grand Prix if Motorsport NZ had their heads screwed on properly. They will be running it for trucks soon!

[Just Do It!]

GTR: The NZGP used to be run for F4000/Holden. Lowndes, Stokell, Murf and others have contested it.

The cost of bringing the cars over combined with the Manfield wet weather, and MNZ officialdom and Cams officialdom colliding was just too much.

For the best of my brain recall, last time the NZGP was run for F4000 was at Pukekohe. There were 12 or so cars, including some from Oz - Clearihan rings a bell. It was boring to watch and some poser called Booth - may or may not be connected to TKR - won. He spun over the finish line, almost collecting a marshal post, getting out to "dance" on the nose of the car like a ......... - any of the appropriate words might result in censoring or lawsuits!

It was a sad day.