Paul Radisich scored his first race win on New Zealand soil for several years when he took a start to finish victory in yesterday’s opening NZ V8s race at Ruapuna near Christchurch
The Ford Falcon driver started from pole position and was never headed, leading home the Falcons of Kayne Scott and Angus Fogg.
“It’s been years since I’ve led a race from start to finish,” said Radisich.
“I was pushing for the whole race – I thought I needed to open a 10-second gap (a reference to a time penalty for allegedly jumping the start).”
Scott was happy with second place, though he felt the car wasn’t turning in to corners as well as it should have.
Fogg was thoroughly disgruntled, fuming at officials’ decision to restart him third after the race was stopped for an incident on lap one.
The leading cars had crossed the start finish line, with Fogg second behind Radisich. Scott was third.
But officials ruled that Scott should start second – where he had qualified. Fogg said that as the leaders had completed a lap that was the order in which they should have been restarted.
He says they changed their mind just as the race started but by then it was too late.
First Holden finisher was Paul Manuell in the Orix Commodore. He described the race as “all right” but said the Holdens can’t match the Falcons’ pace.
“I didn’t really have an answer for them, that’s for sure. It’s a bit of a stalemate out there.”
