January’s devastating floods wreaked havoc over the Auckland region with Pukekohe Park Raceway not exempt from feeling the wrath. The result was a cancellation of an event which was tilted as an opportunity for several classes to farewell the circuit.
One of those classes, however, has received a second chance to send off the racetrack which has essentially become home base.
The Production Race Series is one of eight categories set to grace Pukekohe this weekend following the cancellation of their initial final meet at the circuit some seven weeks ago.
“It was heart-breaking,” says series founder Martyn Wells. “We were not happy to see the legacy of Pukekohe close and finish like that.”
Following that, an opportunity presented itself to compete at Pukekohe’s Flying Farewell which the team were quick to take up to ensure they could give the circuit the send-off it deserved.
“We’ve really tried to have a celebration of Pukekohe at this event,” Wells continues.
“We’ve got 40 cars and a full set of trophies for first, second and third in groups A, B and C for the round and the driver of the day, so there’s some custom one-off trophies to give the track the send-off it deserves.”
Cars range from the likes of Porsche, Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores right through to Toyota Corollas, MX5s and Daihatsu Sirions. A strong mix was to be expected from the series which often boasts full grids each round.
Pukekohe’s appeal to grass root racers is what has seen the Production Race Series feature so strongly at the circuit, something which Wells says they will miss.
“The biggest thing Pukekohe has brought the series is the availability of having a track and getting people down on test days.
“We’ve gone through a lot of track days and picked up people from a track day environment and got them into racing which we haven’t really had [at other circuits].
“That’s probably the big thing, the availability for people with the accessibility of the track, it’s still the weekend warrior track, so to speak.”
The Production Race Series will first hit the track on Friday at 2:10pm for qualifying with their first race being the first of the event at 5pm that evening.
They return at 11:25am on Saturday for Race 2 before their final ever race at Pukekohe at 3:36pm.
Several racers will remain at the track on Sunday to take part in the Hamilton Asphalts Saloons Flying Farewell where they’ll face off against a range of Pre65/Mini, Mazda Racing Series, Honda Cup and V8 Ute competitors.
Main Image: Supplied
