Organisers of the Ryco 24/7 V8 Ute Championship have confirmed it will conclude its 2019/20 season with a Grand Finale from Hampton Downs on September 4-6.
The V8 Ute class will therefore join the Toyota 86 grid at the Waikato venue in a bid to see out their truncated seasons.
Series veteran Paul Manuell currently holds a slim margin at the head of the points standings over Glen Collinson.
The Panorama Motorsports-prepared Falcon suffered a power steering failure in the opening race at Manfeild back in February in what would be the series’ last event before entering lockdown amid the global pandemic.
The mechanical failure allowed title protagonist Manuell to increase his points lead which now sits at 34. The Pukekohe-based driver is yet to finish outside the top-four and has stood on the podium in all but two races across the current season.
But with a maximum total of 105 points on offer over the weekend, any slipup by one of the title rivals could prove costly.
Meanwhile, the battle for third in the standings is heating up between Andrew Porter and Peter Ward. Two successive non-point scoring finishes for Porter at Manfeild allowed Ward to close to within eight points of his rival as the final round looms.
Despite several motorsport championships across the country having to end their respective seasons prematurely, the NZV8 Utes are expecting a near-complete grid come September.
The series will even see a debutant take to the field with an official announcement expected soon.
GTRNZ and the ENZED Central Muscle Cars are also slated to feature on the event programme and the round will also be used to showcase the all-new NZTA2 category.
Main Image: Dillon Photo NZ
