• Latest
  • Trending

Collins Motorsport “over the moon” after MARC debut

February 10, 2021

Mixed fortunes for Kiwis in chaotic Supercars race: Payne secures podium, Evans endures another DNF

July 12, 2025

Bewley clinches podium in thrilling scrap as Robb cracks Top 10, Exton retires

July 12, 2025

Kostecki claims commanding Townsville win as Kiwi Payne just misses podium in Supercars Sprint opener

July 11, 2025

Kostecki claims pole as Kiwi contenders battle through tight Townsville qualifying

July 11, 2025
2023 VAILO Adelaide 500, Event 12 of the Repco Supercars Championship, Adelaide Street Circuit, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. 24 Nov, 2023.

Celebration of life planned for Tim Miles as Supercars paddock pays tribute

July 11, 2025

Randle tops Practice 2 as Matt Payne leads Kiwi charge in Townsville

July 11, 2025

Ryan Wood tops Practice 1 as Brown crashes late in Townsville

July 11, 2025

Bewley to make street circuit debut in Townsville Porsche Sprint Challenge Round

July 11, 2025

Rally Debut: Liam Lawson gets a taste of WRC in 2025 Ford Puma Rally1 car at Goodwood

July 11, 2025

Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend

July 12, 2025

LIVE: Goodwood Festival of Speed – Watch Liam Lawson, Greg Murphy, Mad Mike & more

July 10, 2025
Saturday, July 12, 2025
VelocityNews
Subscribe
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Collins Motorsport “over the moon” after MARC debut

by Zane Shackleton
February 10, 2021
in New Zealand, News, NZV8
0

Collins Motorsport are “over the moon” with the how their new Mustang-bodied MARC II V8 performed on its debut outing at the New Zealand Grand Prix.

Having just arrived in the country from Australia, the car had only turned a mere 15 laps at Taupo before joining the NZV8 grid at Hampton Downs.

The weekend would give the team its first indication on how the MARC handles in race trim.

To finish third in the forty-minute feature race, Collins Motorsport was left with nothing but smiles at the end of a testing weekend.

“As a team, we are over the moon with how the car performed that weekend,” team owner Paul Collins told Velocity News.

“It is a lot different from the old Mustang, and that meant getting on top of new things. So, we are still coming to terms with the likes of adjustable ABS and Traction Control.

“But, overall, we couldn’t be happier with how the car went.”

The MARC is an entirely different beast to the team’s old car – a NASCAR-powered Mustang GT-X.

Unlike the Mustang, which produced close to 900hp, the MARC is significantly down on straight-line performance. However, the MARC betters the Mustang’s speed through the downforce generated by its slick body shape and rear wing.

The MARC also weighs over 400kg less than the Mustang courtesy of its full carbon fibre frame.

Collins said that these differences were initially tough for the team’s driver Sam Collins to get his head around. But he believes his speed will continuously get stronger each time he gets behind the wheel.

“There is a difference in driving style between the two cars.

“The MARC is some 300 horsepower down on the Mustang. That means you don’t have the same power which can get you out of trouble.

“What I mean by that is that before, if the driver made a mistake in the Mustang, he could use the enormous power on the straights to make up time. Whereas with the MARC, you need a smoother driving style.

“Sam is getting use to that and I am sure he will get better and get a grip with the difference in aero, braking and handling from one car to the next.”

Unexpectedly, the team were also tasked with a big repair job between Saturday and Sunday after a crash in the final sprint race.

“Of course that didn’t help,” Collins said.

“[The MARC] did a five-minute race and then got smashed up in the next, which left us with a reasonable repair job.

“But the boys did an amazing job to repair the car to get it race-ready. They had roughly 20 hours between races to fix the damage, and most of those were preparing the car to repair it.

“We had never dissembled it before, so that took some time as we learnt what to do.”

After getting final repairs to the car done just after 4 am, Sam would reward the team’s efforts with a maiden podium in the weekend’s feature race.

“It did feel good to come back from having a wrecked car to finish third in the main race the next day.

“We even had second in our sights if we had pitted when it started raining, and we were in the window to do that. But we stayed out, and that cost us around three-seconds per lap, so the three extra laps we did cost us roughly nine seconds on the leaders.

“But I am just so happy with how the car went and I hope that only means well for the future.”

The MARC will be out in action this weekend in the next round of the NZV8 championship at Manfeild.

Images: Tayler Burke/NZV8

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.