At Manfeild’s OctoberFAST, Glen Collinson was not only quickest in Qualifying; he then went on to win two of the three races to claim Round One of the PTS Logistics V8 Utes series.
Collinson won Saturday’s Race One, finished second to Alex Fougere in Sunday’s Race Two, then returned to the top step in Race Three to secure the round win.
Saturday – Qualifying and Race One
Qualifying finished with an all-Ford 1-2-3, with Glen Collinson fastest in his Falcon FG ute. New to the series, Peter Bennett was instantly at home in a V8 Ute, lapping just behind Glen early in the session in his ex-Brad Kroef Ford Falcon FG ute.
Another Ford FG racer, Blair Gribble-Bowring, eventually posted a scorching lap to claim second-fastest.
The Holdens settled for minor placings, with Alex Fougere the fastest of the GMs in fourth, followed by Manawatu local Geoff Spencer in fifth. Paul Fougere was next; Stu Monteith, who’d had a different replacement earlier in the day, was up to speed from the get-go, with Bruce McRae settling in nicely after a season away from the driver’s seat.
| QUALIFYING | UTE | FASTEST LAP |
| #17 Glen Collinson | Ford FG | 1.17.281 |
| #14 Blair Gribble-Bowing | Ford FG | 1.17.529 |
| #28 Peter Bennett | Ford FG | 1.17.770 |
| #24 Alex Fougere | Holden | 1.18.334 |
| #22 Geoff Spencer | Holden | 1.19.045 |
| #57 Paul Fougere | Holden | 1.19.463 |
| #99 Stu Monteith | Holden | 1.19.722 |
| #45 Bruce McRae | Holden | 1.23.383 |
A marble draw set the afternoon’s Race One grid positions. Fast Fords Glen Collinson and Peter Bennett drew the back row, while second-fastest Blair Gribble-Bowring landed 4th.
The fastest Holden, Alex Fougere, was right up front, setting up a fast, fiery overtaking fest in Race One.
When the lights went out, Alex Fougere leapt away to retain the lead, while Glen Collinson propelled the Fix Auto Collision Ford FG from 7th to 2nd within the first two corners. Blair Gribble-Bowring didn’t have to move far to snatch 3rd.
For newcomer Peter Bennett, starting on the back row, life wasn’t so easy. Showing impressive pace, he was up to 5th by the end of Lap One, tucking in behind Geoff Spencer.
Up front, former champion Glen Collinson soon found a way past Alex Fougere to claim the lead, but Alex wasn’t about to let him get away easily, with Blair Gribble-Bowring hanging on in 3rd. Equally tenacious was Geoff Spencer, who knows every twist and turn of Manfeild as his local circuit, and blocked Peter Bennett for 4th.
It was Peter Bennett’s first race in a V8 ute in the striking yellow/black Terra Cat-backed Ford FG, which raced cat and mouse with Geoff Spencer.
Lap after lap, Peter and Geoff battled within ute-length of each other, until on Lap 8 Geoff missed a gear and Peter claimed the place. A few corners later, Peter missed a gear, Geoff reclaimed 4th place, and held it to the end.
Meanwhile, Glen Collinson hung on to the lead, but a creditable performance from Alex Fougere, in only his first outing in the CORE Holden ute, finished a mere 1.6 seconds behind the former champion. Blair Gribble-Bowring finished less than 6 seconds behind Alex. Exciting racing.
| RACE ONE | UTE | MARGIN |
| #17 Glen Collinson | Ford FG | |
| # 24 Alex Fougere | Holden | +1.669 |
| #14 Blair Gribble-Bowring | Ford FG | +7.327 |
| #22 Geoff Spencer | Holden | +12.325 |
| #28 Peter Bennett | Ford FG | +13.534 |
| #57 Paul Fougere | Holden | +17.267 |
| #99 Stu Monteith | Holden | +18.473 |
| #45 Bruce Spencer | Holden | +36.416 |
Sunday – Race Two
On Sunday morning, Alex Fougere started 7th in the reverse-grid race, alongside Glen Collinson in 8th. Alex had a great start, getting around Blair Gribble-Bowring to claim 3rd, leaving his father Paul up front and Geoff Spencer in 2nd.
But by the start of lap two, Alex had dispatched Geoff Spencer, then passed his father to lead. Meanwhile, in just his second race in a V8 Ute, Peter Bennett moved from 4th to 2nd by lap two. The race was on.
Glen Collinson, meanwhile, was carving up the field, leapfrogging from the back row and challenging Peter Bennett by lap three. The two warhorses battled it out, lap after lap.
Glen eventually passed Peter around turn two on lap seven. Then Glen set out to pursue Alex, posting the fastest lap at 1:18.392. But the wily Holden racer wasn’t relenting and held his lead to the chequered flag.
Meanwhile, a little further back, a tense battle between Geoff Spencer, Stu Monteith and Paul Fougere, just one second apart, saw Paul overtake Stu Monteith late in the race for 6th place, with Geoff clinging onto 5th.
| PLACE | RACE TWO | UTE | MARGIN |
| 1st | # 24 Alex Fougere | Holden | |
| 2nd | #17 Glen Collinson | Ford FG | +0.582 |
| 3rd | #28 Peter Bennett | Ford FG | +2.783 |
| 4th | #14 Blair Gribble-Bowring | Ford FG | +3.180 |
| 5th | #22 Geoff Spencer | Holden | +13.542 |
| 6th | #57 Paul Fougere | Holden | +15.891 |
| 7th | #99 Stu Monteith | Holden | +14.605 |
| 8TH | #45 Bruce Spencer | Holden | +40.572 |
After the race, an elated Alex emerged from the CORE Holden, fists in the air. “Great to have the family here, thanks to Dan (Ludlam), great race.”
Glen Collinson had another podium in the bag. At the end of the race, Peter Bennett was ecstatic: “1st podium in the 1st weekend is pretty cool”.
Sunday – Race Three
For the afternoon’s Race Three, another issue loomed over two drivers. Track-limit warnings in the day’s earlier race for Peter Bennett and Glen Collinson meant both drivers had to stay on track, as one more infringement could bring a drive-through penalty.
Glen Collinson lined up in P1 alongside Alex Fougere in P2. As Glen recounted after the race, “I was concentrating on being first into turn one”. He remained first, leading Alex into the turn, with Peter Bennett, Blair Gribble-Bowring and Geoff Spencer in tow.
Seasoned racer Collinson drove flawlessly, extending his lead lap after lap, but the cars behind him were close. Alex had Blair Gribble-Bowring and Peter Bennett in his rearview mirror. Alex’s solid driving kept him comfortably ahead. But Blair and Peter, both in Ford Falcon FG utes, fought a fierce battle. Blair held on to 3rd place despite the pressure, making for a riveting race for spectators.
Yet further back, another driver provided some engaging action. The PTS Logistics V8 Utes share the grid with the NZ Sixes, ensuring spirited Ford vs Holden battles across two categories. Yet the faster sixes can even challenge the V8 Utes.
Late in the race, NZ Six racer Christina Orr in a V6 Commodore began breathing down Bruce McRae’s neck. Christina caught Bruce on the corners, then Bruce streaked away on the straights. The battle continued right to the chequered flag, with Bruce retaining the upper hand. Just.
| PLACE | RACE THREE | UTE | MARGIN |
| 1st | #17 Glen Collinson | Ford FG | |
| 2nd | # 24 Alex Fougere | Holden | +4.464 |
| 3rd | #14 Blair Gribble-Bowring | Ford FG | +5.358 |
| 4th | #28 Peter Bennett | Ford FG | +7.055 |
| 5th | #22 Geoff Spencer | Holden | +9.574 |
| 6th | #57 Paul Fougere | Holden | +14.542 |
| 7th | #99 Stu Monteith | Holden | +20.974 |
| 8th | #45 Bruce Spencer | Holden | +46.397 |
With two race wins and a second-place finish, Glen Collinson claimed the overall Round One victory at Manfeild, with Alex Fougere winning Race Two and finishing runner-up to Collinson in Race Three.
The V8 Utes head to Hampton Downs in late November, with more drivers returning to the series. After the quality of racing we saw this weekend, Hampton Downs will be a thriller.
Header Image: Dillon Photo NZ
