Battle resumes at superfast Pukekohe

Motul Honda Cup - the country's leading series for production-based Honda racing cars - is hoping to see its biggest entry to date at the second round of the new Summer Series which takes place at the Pukekohe circuit on October 29th.

The winter series round at the same circuit three months ago attracted 27 cars and organisers are hoping to top 30 with several more cars set to make their season debut or return. Notable and fast will be Trevor Strong in his Strong’s Electrical EK20 Civic, Steve Taylor's awesome FD2, Shane Parson's unique CRX, David Grigor's Golden Homes DC5, Martin Dunn's Hexagon Motorsport example and Mark Walters' consistently quick EF.

There will also be plenty of interest in Gary Wilson's 1.6 EG Civic, back in Honda Cup with a very special 1.6 engine that the Whakatane veteran is hoping will push him well inside the 1.10s and up to the sharp end of the grid. Winter series regular Brent Hay is also back and hungry for success in his immaculate 1.8 DC2. Also racing for the first time in its brand new New Zealand Hondas livery will be Rik Wakelin's 1.8 EG, which showed flashes of real speed at Round 1 at Taupo. Richard Gee will be running his last race with 1.6 power before installing a K20 while series director Alan Stewart should also be out in his newly liveried Hankook DC2. Motul New Zealand boss and series regular Tim Pollard was right on the pace at the last Pukekohe meeting in his ex-Japanese Touring Car Championship DC5 and will be right there again.

The battle in the 1.6s will be fierce. With Gee effectively ruling himself out of 1.6 and 2.0 litre with his mid-season engine switch, Wilson, Warren Tunley and Jason Weel all set to do battle at the front. The Motul Honda Cup is the guest series running in the Auckland Car Club's Summer Series round at the venue and there will be plenty of motorsport action to enjoy outside of qualifying and the three Honda Cup races. Muscles Cars, Classic Japanese, Alfa Trofeo and the new Aces class are amongst the classes scheduled to run on a busy day of racing.

Entries and race weekend information here:

Rik's Car Reborn

Rik Wakelin's immaculate self-prepared 1.8 powered EG will appear at Pukekohe in its stunning New Zealand Honda Club livery for the first time. The design was created by Matt Reiri in the NZ Hondas.com competition run recently on the forum - the most popular car forum in New Zealand - and turned into colourful reality by Whakatane-based Bella Designs.

A strong NZ Hondas presence is expected at Pukekohe to see the car in action for the first time and compeition winner Matt should also be on hand to have a look and take design commissions! The car has been evolving nicely since Rik debuted it two years ago, and it now represents exactly what Honda Cup is all about - a fast, well driven and well presented racer that has been created and run on a budget.

Adidas Eyewear joins Honda Cup

Motul Honda Cup has secured elite sporting sunglasses brand Adidas Eyewear as a series sponsor.The sports eyewear specialist will back a new initiative, the Adidas Eyewear Driver of the Day award, which will reward the driver who has produced the most eye-catching performance on track during the race meeting with a pair of the latest Adidas sports sunglasses.

The driver will be nominated after each round and there will be a presentation and photograph at the subsequent race meeting. “We have seen some tremendous one off performances and these have not necessarily been from race or round winners,” explained Honda Cup marketing and promotions officer Richard Gee.

“The idea of the Adidas Eyewear Driver of the Day award is simple. It’s all about standing out from the crowd and that’s what the series officials off track will be looking for. It may be a recovery drive from a spin, a great single pass, or even a series of great moves in a handicap race. In other words, anyone can win it and we will have five winners.”

Adidas Eyewear Sales and Sports Marketing Manager Mark Finlay was delighted to confirm the company’s involvement in the Honda Cup, adding: “We’re excited to partner with the Honda Cup and be able to support the new summer series. With our performance and casual eyewear options ideal for any driving conditions, we feel it is a great way to showcase our range and support this exciting race series.”

Registered Honda Cup drivers will also receive a discount on anything in the comprehensive Adidas Eyewear range. Adidas products are used by many of the top athletes in the world and are a popular choice for the world’s leading racing drivers in NASCAR, Indycar and Le Mans sports cars both in and out of the car.

Hankook car ready

Alan Stewart's DC2 - believe it or not the first DC2 in the world to hit the race tracks and one of the most developed and sorted cars of its kind in the world - will appear at Pukekohe in its smart new Hankook livery in deference to the series sponsor. Hankook have made a huge selection of tyres available to our drivers at a very competitive rate that cannot be matched anywhere in NZ. The 'Big Al' legend on the back is one of Tristan Neate's cool personal rego plates (for racing only). These went down a treat for a lot of the Winter series racers and we would love to see the field sporting one each. If you are interested in getting a plate made, please register your interest on the Forum under Honda Cup race plates or send an email through to tristan.neate@gmail.com. Plates are $25 each and are light and durable. Limitations are 6 numbers or letters as per a standard NZ license plate. Give your car some personality and grab one.

Overall Top Ten after Round 1