Two Timaru drivers will fight out the 2009/2010 Kumho Sport Saloon Series title at their home circuit this Saturday.
The series began back in October at the same circuit where it concludes - Timaru International Motor Raceway at Levels.
Local driver Grant McKissock led after that first outing but at the next round another Timaru driver, Chris Small, took over the series points lead. However as competitors arrive to fight out the finale yet another Timaru driver has topped the standings. Defending champion Neville Stowell has clawed his way back up the points after missing the opening round, taking the lead at the penultimate round last month.
On Saturday the championship will be decided. Stowell and his Nissan Skyline GTR will begin the round with 381 points and Small in his Mitsubishi EVO has 361. Behind them in third is Christchurch driver Gary Ridden while McKissock is still fourth.
While Stowell leads the championship he says, "anything can happen. I'm definitely not confident. A lot will come down to the first race. If you don't finish that first race then it becomes very hard."
Stowell added he would not mind rain on the day. "I go okay in the rain and it will be easier on the car," he says. Should Stowell win the championship it will be his third consecutive championship win."
Small says he will be giving it 100%."The pressure is on Neville. We're not too far away. We will be ready to capatilise on any slip ups. If he doesn't finish a race we should take it. It will be a lot of fun coming through the traffic in the last two races."
Adding even more interest to the series this weekend is the arrival of high profile Timaru driver Brent Collins into the class. Collins, a former Toyota Racing Series and MINI Challenge Champion, will drive a Mazda RX7 Batman as will former frontrunner Michael Gallagher of Ashburton who has returned to the series recently. Another new face this weekend is Ryan Austin of Timaru in a Toyota Corolla while Matt Dunn of Timaru makes his first appearance in this years series in his turbocharged Toyota Corolla.
Class titles and the Handicap Championship will also be decided this weekend. Small has a comfortable lead in the Class A championship from Stowell while Ridden leads Timaru brothers Ivan and Nathan McAuley who are second and third respectively in Class B. McKissock leads Class C from Motueka driver Noel Parish, Stan Moore of Temuka and Timaru's Grant Waters. Waters has finished in the top six in four of the last six races including a recent win. "Considering we dropped one round I’m pleased with where we are placed," the 25-year-old, who recently finished second in the 2010 South Island Kart Championship says.
Christchurch competitor Mark Elliott has a narrow lead over Invercargill's Shane Crosbie in Class D while the separate Handicap Championship is led by Temuka driver Stan Moore who has a three point lead over McKissock.
The Kumho Sport Saloon competitors receive a 10 minute qualifying session at 9.15am on Saturday morning to establish grid positions for the opening race. The first of three races for the class takes place at 10.45am over 8 laps from a rolling start while an 8 lap handicap race follows at 1.15pm. The final race of the season for the Kumho Sport Saloon competitors is timed to start at 2.30pm. That race is another handicap event over 6 laps of the 2.4 kilometre Timaru circuit.
