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Event: Pukekohe, New Zealand Winner:Mark Skaife
Mark Skaife cracked the code to Pukekohe, dominating the meeting to score his first solo win since the Clipsal 500 three years ago meanwhile, Greg Murphy ended his reign with a first-lap crash.
Mark Skaife missed the brake pedal heading into the final turn of his Shootout lap, and that was more than enough to allow Garth Tander in to scoop the spoils with his fifth Series pole.
Rick Kelly started the first race badly, or rather didn’t start at all. He blew a clutch on the line, and sat motionless as the field charged by. The ensuing chaos led to a melee at Turn One.
Much to the distress of an army of Kiwi fans, it was Greg Murphy who came out of that crash worst, wiping the front off his car and almost cleaning up his teammate in the process.
Tasman Motorsport had its first ever full front row, Jason Richards starting the reverse grid race from pole after limping around to finish the first race in last place with a split power steering tube. He was joined by teammate Andy Jones who had a broken engine header and a drive through penalty.
Much drama was expected in the first of the 2006 reverse grid races, and it lived up to all expectations. The hairpin on the first lap was the culprit and it proved four into one doesn’t go, as Warren Luff, Mark Porter, Dean Canto and Tander all tried to squeeze though together, Canto was spun and became pinball. Jamie Whincup and Max Wilson were late damagees.
John Bowe had a huge crash when some damage from the hairpin incident kept his throttle open when it should have been closed. He slammed into an Armco barrier which fell to bits, breaking the leg of a nearby photographer.
For the trivia buffs out there, Tander won the race after starting eighth but the stars were Mark Winterbottom and Skaife, who drove from the back of the field into third and fifth.
Craig Lowndes was stiffed out of a chance for a podium finish when he was given a pitlane penalty for hitting Todd Kelly. TV evidence later showed the call may have been a bit rough.
Winterbottom landed his first ever Championship podium after an awesome weekend. He finished the opening race in fourth, and then backed up with third in each of the remaining two to just pip Ingall for second overall. Russell Ingall, however, picked up enough points to take the Championship lead.
But for Skaife it was a sweet victory after many promising runs here and elsewhere in the three years since his last solo win. In the races he was near perfect, and the combination of his pit entry and exit along with the sub-four-second stops by his team proved too much. He said later it was job well done, and well overdue. RACE FACESkaife back in the Hunt
This is a race meeting that will go down in the books as something special, not all good mind you, but special nonetheless. Let’s look at the good first. Mark Skaife was great, he dominated the races and was back to his absolute best. He had a ball in the reverse grid race, and he climbed 20 spots to defy his own predictions of an at best mid-field result. Mark Winterbottom was similarly impressive in his second Championship race for FPR, dominating some of his more accomplished rivals. His run in the reverse grid was equally as impressive as Skaife, scrambling his way into third from 24th on the grid. Russell Ingall bounced back from his disappointing Adelaide to take the championship lead, claiming third after a run which was the equal of his second here last year. Now to the bad. The stewards again rolled a black dice and dropped some decisions that needed some serious explaining. Garth Tander was called for jumping the start from pole position in the opening race, and then Lowndes was done for hitting Todd Kelly in the second... only it was Todd Kelly that actually hit him. The crashes were big. Murphy’s car needed an all nighter after a big one in Race One, but more of the questioning was levelled at the ageing course’s safety facilities. On Saturday a Porsche almost leapt into the crowd, then on Sunday John Bowe slammed into the Armco fence hard enough to fire a wooden support brace at a photographer’s leg, snapping the latter it in two. WHAT'S IT ALL MEAN?Champion back on top Russell Ingall moved back to the top of the Championship table after a solid run into third place, and from here he is going to put on a pretty strong defence. Skaife proved he is a threat, so long as he doesn't get near his double doughnuts in Adelaide again. Rick Kelly sits second, just one point away from Ingall.Axe to grindCraig Lowndes
It is pretty easy to pick those with an axe to grind from this meeting, but the highlights – or lowlights – for us was Lowndes. Yes, there was contact between Lowndes and Todd Kelly, but we doubt there was a penalty either way. As we saw it, Kelly hit Lowndes. Not that the stewards would know, they admitted to the team they acted on a corner marshall’s report. Blue HeroMark Winterbottom
Mark Winterbottom was sensational in NZ, and for his first podium he is well deserving of the Blue Hero tag. He finished fourth in the opening race, and then charged through to third from the mid-20s in the reverse grid race to set up a memorable drive to the podium in the final. It was his best finish and qualifying performance since joining the main game a couple of season’s back. Red HeroMark Skaife
Seriously, after three years in the wilderness, how could you go past Skaife here. Adelaide 2003 was his last solo win, despite a brace of pole positions and plenty of opportunity. In NZ all went to plan, and he dominated the races by dominating the pits and all its surrounding activity. He was so quick on his in and out laps and getting in and out of the pitbox that he was six seconds quicker in Race One than anyone else.
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