TThis weekend’s round of the Kelford Cams OSCA Championship at Taupo will be missing current points leader Roger Fawbert from Upper Hutt. Fawbert’s Camaro is homologated under Schedule TZ (Tranzam) and the Centennial Park Circuit at Taupo is not certified for that level of car.

There will, however, be no shortage of competition with 26 cars entered including 9 from the South Island. The field includes 3 cars that are very similar to Fawbert’s but which are homologated under Schedule A and so are allowed to race. Andy Greenslade from Tauranga, currently second on points and Lawrence Knowler from Invercargill, currently 7th in their Camaros are joined by Derin Greenslade in his Mustang. Derin was forced to miss the first two rounds due to engine problems.

The short tight track should lead to some classic “David and Goliath” battles. Brian Gray from Tauranga, currently 2nd on points and Cameron Jones from Palmerston North, currently 5th will find their 12A PP RX7s even more competitive against the big V8s at Taupo. This will be especially true in the reverse grid races where their ability to move through the large field will be severely tested.

The South Island competitors are an unknown quantity at Taupo with most of them will have their first ever drive on the circuit in testing on Friday. The South Islanders currently lead the North vs South competition and will be looking to maintain their lead for the North Island rounds. The very fast Toyota Levin Turbo of Matt Cronin from Christchurch will line up against the equally fast Nissan Skyline of Taupo’s Mike Thompson. The RX7 Turbos of Peter Henry from Taupo, Bill Russell from Hastings and Mark Burgess from Wellington will be squaring off against the similar cars of Dave McNaughtan and Mark Crobbe from Christchurch. An other interesting North vs South battle will be the V8 Capris of Feilding’s Graham and Shane Barnes versus the similar car of Christchurch’s Evan Munt.

Racing starts on Saturday afternoon with a grid start followed by a reverse grid race on Sunday morning and a handicap race on Sunday afternoon.

The final round will be held a week later at Manfeild on the 2nd and 3rd of April. The larger Manfeild circuit allows the Tranzams to rejoin the racing providing an even larger and more competitive field.

Current Points for the Kelford Cams NZ OSCA Championship (Top ten) are:

 

Roger Fawbert	Camaro	Upper Hutt	121
Brian Gray	Mazda RX7	Tauranga	116
Andy Greenslade	Camaro	Tauranga	114
Scott Fitzgerald	Toyota Starlet	Christchurch	108
Cameron Jones	Mazda RX7	Palmerston North	105
Marke Crabbe	Mazda RX7	Christchurch	94
Lawrence Knowler	Camaro	Invercargill	92
Matt Cronin	Toyota Levin	Christchurch	85
Chris Coleman	Mini	Hamilton	82
Geoff Washbourne	Commodore	Christchurch	81

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