The 2001 Boost Mobile V8 International was the twelfth round of the 2001 Shell Championship Series. This was the first V8 Supercar event in New Zealand since the 1996 Mobil New Zealand Sprints and the first time as part of the official calendar. It was held on the weekend of 9 to 11 November at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand.
In this event, Greg Murphy dominated the weekend at Pukekohe, grabbing three race wins from three and entered the weekend with high expectations. After grabbing provisional pole position, he went on to convert that into a top-ten shootout pole – a first for the 2001 season. The first race was marred due to torrential downpour that resulted in the race being red flagged and ultimately ended prematurely. Shortly thereafter, Mark Larkham was erroneously declared the winner despite the notable handicap of having retired from the race before said red flag was shown. After an appeal from Murphy's team, the Kiwi was declared the winner less than 24 hours later.
Mark Skaife would also clinch his fourth Australian Touring Car championship with a round to spare after title rival Russell Ingall experienced a difficult weekend.
Background The 2001 Boost Mobile V8 International heralded the first ever overseas championship event for the V8 Supercar series, although it was not the first time that V8 Supercar racing was held at the Pukekohe Park Raceway. In 1996, the Mobil New Zealand Sprints saw the V8 Supercars come across the ditch for the first time, although these events were not part of the 1996 Australian Touring Car Championship calendar.
Skaife entered the round with a chance to clinch the championship with one round to spare. His title rival, Ingall, was still in with an outside chance should Skaife had run into troubles throughout the weekend. Although with 455 points between the two drivers, and only 576 maximum for the last two rounds, Skaife was the overwhelming favourite to retain his crown.
Owing to internal disputes, Briggs Motorsport announced that John Bowe would be replaced for the final two rounds by his endurance co-driver and newly-crowned Konica V8 Supercar champion, Simon Wills. Angus Fogg would return to the series in his first solo appearance since the Clipsal 500.
Wills' inclusion on the grid meant that the inaugural New Zealand championship event would have seven Kiwi drivers competing. Others included Murphy, Fogg, Jason Richards, Steven Richards, Paul Radisich and John Faulkner. Along with the drivers, this event marked the first 'home' event for the New Zealand-based team, Team Kiwi Racing.
Race report Qualifying Murphy secured provisional pole position on Friday to secure his place in the shootout, being the only driver to set a time under the 57 second bracket. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 0:56.9591 2 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.0133 3 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.0813 4 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.1044 5 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.2896 6 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.3174 7 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.4036 8 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.4745 9 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.4811 10 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.5573 11 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.5687 12 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.6122 13 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.6191 14 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.6295 15 6 Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.6705 16 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 0:57.7624 17 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.7665 18 54 Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.7760 19 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.7993 20 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.8918 21 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) 0:58.0055 22 777 Angus Fogg Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 0:58.2709 23 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 0:58.2856 24 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:58.3434 25 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing Holden Commodore (VX) 0:58.4063 26 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) 0:58.4992 27 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:58.5299 28 7 Rodney Forbes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 0:58.5363 29 14 Tomas Mezera Imrie Motor Sport Holden Commodore (VX) 0:58.9099 30 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing Holden Commodore (VT) 0:59.0430 Source:
Top Ten Shootout Murphy became the first driver in 2001 to convert his provisional pole position into a top-ten shootout pole, much to the crowds adulation. He also remained the only driver to set a time under 57 seconds. Ingall's quest to reign in Skaife's championship lead hit a setback when he encountered gearbox problems, relegating him to tenth. With Skaife securing second on the grid, the defending champion needed only to finish ahead of Ingall in the first race of the weekend to clinch the title. Pos No Name Team Vehicle Time 1 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 0:56.9052 2 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.0313 3 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.1585 4 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.1808 5 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.2542 6 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.3524 7 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.3687 8 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) 0:57.5033 9 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing Ford Falcon (AU) 0:57.7089 10 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) 1:06.8529 Source:
Race 1 Run in overcast conditions, it did not take long for drama to unfold. Jason Bright misjudged his braking heading into the hairpin, sending Craig Lowndes into a spin and left him stranded sideways across the track. Multiple cars careened into him, including Glenn Seton, who incurred extensive damage to the front and rear of his Falcon.
Up the front, Murphy set the pace early on while Skaife and Marcos Ambrose opted to complete their mandatory pitstops as soon as possible. The sheer pace of the Kmart driver and the short nature of the circuit meant Ambrose was immediately put a lap down. Although, this was temporary, as Murphy would peel off for his pitstop merely two laps later. Exiting the pits, Steven Richards' engine expired, forcing him out of the race, ending a torrid day for Glenn Seton Racing. Multiple drivers held off their mandatory pitstops, waiting for looming rain to intervene to their advantage. One of these drivers was Simon Wills, who was making his solo main game debut. He was hindered somewhat after being stuck behind Paul Radisich who was desperate not to go a lap down. By this time, light rain began to fall upon the circuit.
Bright and Ingall came to blows at turn two, resulting in a spin for Ingall and front guard damage for Bright, who experienced great difficulty attempting to get back to pitlane. Murphy began eating into Wills' lead at the rate of up to two seconds per lap. The Briggs outfit was still hoping for the intervention of rain. Grip had reduced at this point, but there was nowhere near enough surface water to warrant a switch to wet-weather tyres. Eventually, Briggs relented and Wills pitted for contemporary dry-weather tyres. Shortly afterwards, much to their dismay, the rain had arrived. Drivers began peeling in for wet weather tyres, with the exception of a few drivers now rolling the dice with slick tyres on a wet track. This included Anthony Tratt, Paul Morris, and new race leader, Mark Larkham.
By lap 30, the circuit was completely drenched. Those on slick tyres were barely able to keep their cars on the track and were forced to drive at a significantly slower pace compared to those on wets. Even those on the optimum tyre however were struggling. Visiblity was reduced to dangerous levels and eventually the surface water began catching out drivers. Fogg had beached himself in the hairpin bunker, completing an otherwise disastrous day of 'racing' for him. Soon after, Morris spun at Ford Mountain, hit the wall and was out of the race. At the same time, Murphy had passed Larkham for the lead at the hairpin as the Karcher Falcon struggled to put its power to the road, before eventually crashing at the same point where Morris had gone off moments before. Tratt would join both of them seconds later.
With cars dropping out everywhere around the circuit, visibility down to zero, and cars struggling for grip, even on wet-weather tyres, the decision was made to end the race early, with race results reverting to the lap previous to when the red flag was shown. Given Murphy had completed more than lap by the time the red flag was shown, he should have been declared the winner. Instead, Larkham was declared the victor, despite him having crashed two laps prior to the session being declared. After lodging an appeal, Murphy was subsequently declared the winner, but not after Murphy vented his frustrations to the media, questioning the integrity of the V8 Supercar officials.
Down the field, Ambrose and Skaife completed the podium, with the latter claiming his fourth Australian Touring Car title with five races to spare. Having clinched the title, Skaife pledged to assist teammate Bright to secure second in the championship ahead of Ingall in the remaining races. Many lauded Jason Richards' performance after finishing fourth, in what was widely acknowledged not to be amongst the best machinery on the grid. Other commendable performances down the grid included Tony Longhurst in sixth, Garth Tander in seventh, and Tomas Mezera in the Imrie Motor Sport car who climbed 17 positions from his original grid slot.
Pos No Name Team Laps Time Grid 1 51 Greg Murphy Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia 31 32min 40.8060sec 1 2 4 Marcos Ambrose Stone Brothers Racing 31 + 9.67 3 3 1 Mark Skaife Holden Racing Team 31 + 10.93 2 4 021 Jason Richards Team Kiwi Racing 31 + 12.50 16 5 8 Russell Ingall Perkins Engineering 31 + 13.09 10 6 54 Tony Longhurst Rod Nash Racing 31 + 22.49 18 7 34 Garth Tander Garry Rogers Motorsport 31 + 24.27 19 8 15 Todd Kelly Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia 31 + 31.04 4 9 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 31 + 34.80 14 10 35 Jason Bargwanna Garry Rogers Motorsport 31 + 35.71 21 11 600 Simon Wills Briggs Motorsport 31 + 45.75 13 12 14 Tomas Mezera Imrie Motor Sport 31 + 47.97 29 13 43 Paul Weel Paul Weel Racing 31 + 48.25 20 14 7 Rodney Forbes Gibson Motorsport 31 + 48.60 28 15 75 Anthony Tratt Paul Little Racing 31 + 2:05.13 27 16 11 Larry Perkins Perkins Engineering 30 + 1 lap 5 17 18 Paul Radisich Dick Johnson Racing 30 + 1 lap 12 18 24 Paul Romano Romano Racing 30 + 1 lap 25 19 31 Steven Ellery Steven Ellery Racing 30 + 1 lap 9 20 2 Jason Bright Holden Racing Team 30 + 1 lap 8 21 21 Brad Jones Brad Jones Racing 29 + 2 laps 24 22 9 David Besnard Stone Brothers Racing 29 + 2 laps 11 23 3 Cameron McConville Lansvale Racing Team 29 + 2 laps 23 24 00 Craig Lowndes Gibson Motorsport 29 + 2 laps 24 Ret 10 Mark Larkham Larkham Motorsport 30 Accident 17 Ret 67 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 30 Accident 26 Ret 777 Angus Fogg Team Kiwi Racing 27 Spun off 22 Ret 46 John Faulkner John Faulkner Racing 7 Accident damage 30 Ret 6 Steven Richards Glenn Seton Racing 5 Engine 15 Ret 5 Glenn Seton Glenn Seton Racing 0 Accident damage 7 Fastest Lap: Greg Murphy (Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia), 0:57.8307 Source:
Race 2