Fastest lap times at Pukekohe (not just V8 tourers)

[alfasud]

There were some comments made a few weeks ago on the forum, about lap times at Pukekohe. This made me curious about the fastest laps ever at the circuit and fastest of currently raced classes. So far I've found...

1968 Chris Amon, Ferrari 246T / Ferrari 2417cc V6, 59.3 (race)
1969 Chris Amon, Ferrari 246T / Ferrari 2417cc V6, 58.2 (qual)
1969 Jochen Rindt, Lotus 49T / Cosworth 2491cc V8, 58.9 (race)
1970 Frank Matich, McLaren M10A / Chevrolet 4995cc V8, 59.2 (race)
1971 Frank Matich, McLaren M10B / Repco 4940cc V8, 56.7 (race)
1972 Graham McRae, Leda GM1 / Chevrolet, 4995cc V8, 55.2 (qual)
1972 Frank Gardner, Lola T300 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8, 56.9 (race)
1988 Steve Soper, Ford Sierra RS 500, 62.71 (qual)
1989 Peter Brock/Paul Radisich, Ford Sierra RS 500, 61.27 (qual)
2003 Greg Murphy, Holden Commodore V8, 56.545 (qual)
2003 Mark Skaife, Holden Commodore V8, 57.4463 (race)
2004 Matt Halliday, Porsche GT3, 59.883 (qual)
2004 Kayne Scott, Holden Commodore NZ V8 Touring Car, 62.573 (qual)

The 1989 Sierra RS 500 time was from Frank de Jong's site and wasn't clear who qualified the car:
http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jon...l%20races.html

I'm missing figures for TraNZam, Sports Sedans, Super GT, Motorcycles.... and probably a lot of others. What about Formula Brabham/Holden/4000 or whatever they're calling it these days? Does anyone have any times for those?

Bryan Faloon's fatal accident in the 1972 NZ GP, resulted in chicanes being installed for the 1973 GP (since removed), so F5000 cars never went faster than those 1972 times... or did they?

After a little more searching I found....

2004 Roger Williams, McRae GM1 F5000, 56.18 (qual)

Surely the fastest current times at Pukekohe don't belong to a historic race car/class.... and was the fastest ever set in 1972? Does anyone know if anything else has gone faster?

[Timu]

Kayne Scott has done a mid 55 second lap in a TraNZam. Before he went to America.

I think "Godzilla" cracked a 59 second lap in 1991 which was said to be a handful by Skaifey.

[alfasud]

Thanks Timu, I did a search on Kane Scott and Pukekohe and found that mid 55 second time and as a bonus, the same page lists Glenn Seton as the fastest official (race) time for a V8 Supercar. A bit more seaching found some times from the 2003/2004 SuperGT series.

http://www.racenews.com.au/?page=laprecords&track=23

1994 Kane Scott, Ford Mustang (TraNZam), 55.74 (race)
1996 Glenn Seton, Ford Falcon EF V8 Supercar, 57.35 (race)

http://www.motorsport.org.nz/mrnz/Pa...v03SuperGT.htm

2003 Carl Hansen, TVR Tuscan V8, 57.860 (qual)
2003 Owen Evans, Porsche Le Mans Turbo, 58.231 (qual)
2003 Racing Ray Williams, Porsche 911 GT2 Turbo, 59.703 (qual)
2003 Ross Rutherford, Subaru WRX Turbo, 59.753 (qual)

[alfasud]

It's funny how changing one word in your search brings up so many new answers.... seems that Kayne Scott (correct spelling this time I hope) has done a little better than that 1996 time.

http://www.motorsport.org.nz/mrnz/Pa...19Jan03CRC.htm

2003 Kayne Scott, Chevrolet Corvette TraNZam, 54.936 (qual)
2003 Kayne Scott, Chevrolet Corvette TraNZam, 55.530 (race)

Plus an updated SuperGT time...

2003 Ray Williams, Porsche 911 GT2, 57.590 (qual)

[William Dale Jr]

I looked through my data and the GTR did a 58.69 in qualifying in 1991. Without looking at the race report, think Skaifey set the time, but I'm not sure. The car then did a 59.84 in the race; the only car to break the minute barrier during the race.

[Armco Bender]

1975,the last F5000 race with chicanes,Lawrence got pole with a 60.9.The 1973 chicanes were wooden fences with motorscraper tyres that slowed the cars to a crawl,later they were replaced with kerbs so the cars could hop over them.

[Just Do It!]

I think to the best of my knowledge, and this may have been beaten on some tracks, that Greg Murphy holds the outright lap record on every circuit in New Zealand that he raced the Reynard 92D Formula Holden/Brabham beast of his.

I think for memory that it used to do about 150 or 170 MPH around the sweeper at the end of the front straight at Pukekohe (the corner that claimed Noske's car in 2003). It was a horrendously quick car.

Kevin Murphy, Craig Spargo, and Adrian Gamble (who was an ex-Lotus engineer, if my memory is correct, who was flown out from the UK to run the car) did most of the work. There was another guy too - just can't recall his name.

[nzduck]

Formula 5000 Ken Smith Matich A50 55.2 November 93
Formula Holden and Outright Simon Wills Reynard 94D 52.972 December 2000
Formula Ford Andrew Neale Van Dieman RF92 1:02.52 February 94
V8 Supercars Glen Seton Falcon EF 57.35 November 96
Group A Joachim Winklehock BMW M3 58.86
GT3 Matt Haliday GT3 59.834 February 2004
NZ V8 Touring Cars Kayne Scott 1.02.613 February 2004
Super GT Carl Hansen TVR Tuscan 57.189 February 2004 (Not certain if this is correct)
Tranzam Kayne Scott beat his record in January 2003 in the Chev Corvette meaning that he took the record he had held for nine years off himself and he has held the Tranzam record since February 91 when he broke the 60 second mark.

All race results as these are the only ones that count for records

[Sirio]

[QUOTE]Group A Joachim Winklehock BMW M3 58.86

Got to love those BMW's. To set that time in a 500km race with 2.5 litres is fantastic.

[Warwick]

Some of the bikes
Ray Clee Suzuki GSXR1000 57.954
Shaun Harris Honda CBR600 1.00.855
Midge Smart Honda RS125 1.05.563
Hamish Laing Honda RS250? 1.03.675
Phil Law/Angus Ravenwood ZZR1100 Sidecar 1.08.686

all from Rd 1 of the nationals in Dec 2003

[alfasud]

Thanks nzduck, and all those others that added times to the list. I'm curious about that BMW M3 time:

"Group A Joachim Winklehock BMW M3 58.86"

What year was that? I did a bit of a search of Nissan-Mobil 500 winners (Wellington race) and found a page with the following....

1985 Robbie Fraccvic/Michael Delcourt, Volvo 240T
1986 Brock/Moffat, Holden Commodore
1987(JAN) Brock/Moffat, Holden Commodore
1987(DEC) Klaus Ludwig/Klaus Niedzwiedg, Ford Sierra RS 500
1988 Emanuele Pirro/Roberto Raviglia, BMW M3
1989 Emanuele Pirro/Roberto Raviglia, BMW M3
1990 Emanuele Piro/Johnny Cecotto, BMW M3
1991 Emanuelo Piro/Joachim Winkelhock, BMW M3
1992 Paul Morris/Tony Longhurst, BMW M3
1993 Owen Evans/Bruno Eichmann, Porsche Carrera RS

I imagine that time would have been set at the second race of the Nissan-Mobil series at Pukekohe - but what year? Would that have been 1991, when Piro/Winkelhock won the Wellington race too? I don't think the Schnitzer team came to NZ in 1992?

Whichever year it was, it was a stunning time.... it would be a competitive time today in the SuperGT class, beating the Porsche GT3's and not too far off the pace of the V8 Supercars at about 1.5 seconds off Seton's record.

[alfasud]

Slight correction... that second 1987 Wellington race (part of WTCC) would have been October, not December 1987.

Correction #2... in 1992 the Schnitzer team with Emanuele Pirro and Joachim Winkelhock, did race at Wellington (DNF)... not sure about Pukekohe?

http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jon...ellington.html