Mike 'Buzz' Lightfoot's bad luck at Manfeild has continued with a race one incident and a small mechanical niggle in race three thwarting his efforts to hunt down second place in the UDC V8 Ute championship.
Lightfoot made a positive start to the weekend, setting the fourth fastest time in the opening test session held in wet conditions, then set the second fastest time in the dry session held later on Friday.
Saturday's qualifying session was again good for Lightfoot as he set the second fastest time after just four laps, saving the one set of tyres that each competitor gets per round and banking a good dose of points.
The opening race of the weekend saw Lightfoot draw the marble that gave him grid position one. However a poor start and contact into turn one meant he was running in sixth place coming onto the main straight. However things went really wrong when more contact saw the Aucklander spinning towards the infield. After pitting to repair a broken wheel rim, Lightfoot continued to circulate to gain valuable points, coming home 12th. He also won a remote control car for what was determined to be the 'Extreme moment' of the weekend.
Race two saw the grids from race one reversed, meaning Lightfoot would start in 12th place. He made a great start and moved to sixth at the end of the first lap, then up to fourth on lap two. He chased down third place, but while attempting a pass on the final lap, got sideways and instead conceded a position, finishing the race in fifth.
Race three saw Lightfoot start in fifth place, but on lap three a small electrical problem saw the Ute cut out on the back straight. Some quick thinking from Lightfoot saw him flick off the master switch, re-booting the ECU and firing the #96 BSL Racing Ford Ute back into life, but dropping to eighth place. He then worked his way back up to sixth by the end of the race, despite the Ute cutting out another two times.
"It was a tough weekend for us," said Lightfoot. "Things started so well and the pace we had in testing and qualifying was awesome, then things just went wrong in race one. Race two was good and although race three was ok, it could have been better. But that's racing, we just have to get on with it."
The results of a tough weekend saw Lightfoot take fifth equal place for the weekend. While he has maintained his third place in the championship, the gap between himself and second placed Chris Hanley has increased to 92 points with only one round remaining at Taupo on March 9-11. Press Release by BB Media