Auckland V8 Ute driver Mike ‘Buzz’ Lightfoot has made a fantastic return to the V8 ute series, taking his first podium finish in only his second meeting in the utes.
Lightfoot approached the meeting hoping to finish “Somewhere in the top ten and if I could run mid-field I would be stoked,” and achieved that by qualifying seventh amongst the thirteen car field.
Race one saw the grids determined through qualifying Lightfoot worked his way forward one position to sixth. For races two and three the usual ute format was resumed with a marble draw for race two then the reverse for race three. Lightfoot drew grid three and after dropping back one place recorded his best finish to date in the V8 ute series.
Race three was when the weekend started to fall into place for the general manager of series sponsor Enzed. With the reverse grid draw seeing Lightfoot off grid eleven there was plenty of work to get near the front. This wasn’t helped with a bad start that put him to the rear of the field. Then over the next eight laps, Lightfoot put his head down and picked off cars one by one to finish an astounding third overall.
The fourth and final race grids were determined from points earned in the previous three races and after his fantastic race three performance, Lightfoot claimed third position on the grid for the finale. Graeme Beirne made a move early in the race to relegate Lightfoot to fourth, however the move wasn’t permanent and Lightfoot claimed third not only for the second race in a row but also for the round, eclipsing his previous best of eleventh at his only other meeting last year.
"The IPV team was on fire. They really dialled the Falcon into the circuit. Hampton Downs is techncial. I love it. It is a thinkers track. It is very different. It was great once I got my brain into gear. It made me feel young again," said Lightfoot.
