DAWSON TAKES NEW ZEALAND TITLE

Invercargill racing driver Colin Dawson has completed a golden season with victory in the New Zealand OSCA Super Saloon Championship.

Dawson sealed the title with another superb outing at the Taupo Motorsport Centre this weekend.

Earlier in the season Dawson won the 2006/07 South Island OSCA Super Saloon Championship plus the South Island GT2 Class title in his Mazda RX8. Following on from that success he has spent the last two weekends in the North Island attempting to add the New Zealand title to his 2006/2007 achievements. He made a great start at Manfeild Autocourse last weekend and scored two good results before a gearbox problem cost him the championship lead in the final race at that venue. However he still went to the finale at Taupo this weekend just two points off the championship lead.

Dawson had another great weekend at Taupo, qualifying third fastest yesterday morning before snaring a second place in the opening race yesterday afternoon. Then in this morning's reverse grid race the Southlander started from 26th on the grid with a 10 second handicap and just as he did at Manfeild last weekend drove through the field to a superb win.

Dawson and his team then did the maths and knew what they had to do in the third and final race to seal the championship. From 25th on the grid he cruised to 16th place, enough to seal both the New Zealand OSCA Super Saloon Championship and the New Zealand GT2 Class title. That completed a clean sweep for the Invercargill driver who is now the New Zealand and South Island OSCA Super Saloon Champion and the New Zealand and South Island GT2 Class Champion.

Palmerston North driver Cameron Jones was second overall in the championship with Tim Rooney of Tauranga third.

Dawson said from Taupo this evening, "it's been a great couple of weeks and I'm as happy as hell!"

The OSCA Super Saloon Series is a motor racing category that caters for a wide variety of saloon cars and encourages kiwi ingenuity, a cornerstone of New Zealand motor racing throughout the years.

Dawson's 2006/2007 motor racing campaign is supported by Riverside Rentals, ABN Amro Craigs Limited, GWD Russells Limited, Insurance Brokers Alliance, Advantage Advertising Ltd, Simpsons Chartered Accountants Limited, Gordon Officer Ltd, Auto Fab Machining, Shell Gladstone, Appco Auto Parts and Avenal Dairy & Lotto.