Super trucks revving up

It will be petrol-head and diesel horsepower heaven in Pukekohe as the BNT NZ SuperTourers are joined by the 1,200hp, five-tonne monsters of the New Zealand Super Truck Championship for the Fuchs 500 from November 29-30. It is 10 years since the NZ Super Trucks last raced at Pukekohe Park Raceway, and it is expected at least 11 will return to the circuit – as well as former champions, such as Ron Salter, Andrew Porter and Calven Bonney. As well as the trucks, eyes will be on the final round of the BNT NZ SuperTourer series with Aucklander Richard Moore coming off a round win at Hampton Downs a month ago. Moore and his co-driver, full-time Supercar racer Tim Slade, go into the meeting second on points behind Shane Van Gisbergen and fellow Simon Evans. Moore is part of the M3 team, along with Greg Murphy and Paul Manuell, and he says he has learnt a lot from them, sharing data from their cars and listening to their advice. But it’s even better when Slade, who races the Supercheap Commodore in Australia, joins him because they are in the same car at the same meeting rather than comparing cars that might be slightly different. They can work together to find the best set-up for each race. In the NZ SuperTrucks, Clevedon’s Troy Wheeler says the Pukekohe event will be round one of a five-round championship for the trucks and is rejuvenation for the series. Returning to the series is three-time champion Andrew Porter.