Motor Sport
Defending champion Liam MacDonald of Invercargill goes to the final round of this year’s BNT V8’s Championship at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park this weekend with a slender lead in Class 2 of the championship.
After an impressive start to his title defence a series of problems through the middle part of the championship cost him dearly and he went to the penultimate round at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon at Feilding last month one point behind Albany driver Chelsea Herbert. However after taking the Speedy Signs Ford Falcon to second overall there he clawed his way back into a 12 point championship lead over Herbert with just this weekend’s round remaining.
Both Herbert and the driver currently third in the championship, Brock Timperley, are within striking distance for the title and as he prepares for the round MacDonald says, “the goal for the weekend is to qualify well and then to avoid mechanical dramas and accumulate some good finishes. I just have to race hard and not let the championship battle bother me.”
MacDonald has only been to Hampton Downs once before and that was twelve months ago but says he enjoyed the circuit as he picked up the round win and sealed the championship on that occasion.
Since the last round the MacDonald Racing Team has carried out basic maintenance on the Speedy Signs Falcon and done some work on the set up of the car to ready it for the Hampton Downs circuit.
After a short practice session on Saturday morning the field will go into qualifying with the opening race on Saturday afternoon before the final two races of the championship on Sunday.
MacDonald’s campaign in the 2017/2018 BNT V8’s Championship is supported by Speedy Signs, EmbroidMe, Southern Automobiles, Castrol NZ, GT Radial NZ, Million Dollar Cruise Queenstown, Marsh Motorsport, Classic Car Warehouse Invercargill, Advanti Racing and YHI NZ, Ideal Electrical, BNT NZ, Auto Windscreen Replacement Ltd, Southern Bolts & Fasteners, Auto Fab, Ralston Sheetmetal, Invercargill; NAC Insurance, CS Auto Refinishing, Invercargill, Dave Loudon Photography, Discount Tyres Invercargill, What’s On Invers and a Sport Scholarship with the Community Trust of Southland.