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Wet & Wild - The perfect cliche for the final day at PukekoheConditions for Race day two at Pukekohe Park Raceway could never be classed as a dry - not even if you

counted the short bursts of sunshine that allowed the punters to drop umbrellas. Four seasons in one day isnot unusual for the Auckland region, and those who can adapt to those conditions best in the UDC V8 Utesare the ones who see the most success - for 99% of the weekend James 'Huggi' Urquhart was in that camp.Given that he would be starting from 9th position on the Grid for the first of the days two races (thanks to themarble draw system) and also taking into account that Pukekohe doesn't tend to lend itself much toopassing, it was a positive result to see the Mitre 10 Trade Racing machine move rapidly into 5th place duringthat race. However from there it wasn't going to be his top form that would see him move further up the grid,but a drive that would be considered gutsy to hold the Ute in that part of the field. The problem that Huggi would face was due to a small lockup of the tyres going into turn 2, and from there asubsequent flat spot on a front tyre. He also had to deal with some kind of issue to the steering, and thatmeant the Ute was going to struggle to turn right - and the problem with that is Pukekohe is 90% right hand

turns.For seven more laps Huggi had to wrestle 1.8 tons of Holden around the circuit, with not only vibration andhandling issues to deal with, but a bunch of other V8 Utes chomping on his tailpipe. On lap five it wasAndrew Waite who was able to take advantage of Huggi's personal battle as they went side by side over thehill, continuing down along the front straight - with Huggi finally having to concede the position in the finalmetres before turn 1.From there it was simply a matter of holding on for three more laps where he was able to pull a gap from theremainder of the field, never really allowing them to challenge his position any further, and he finally crossedthe line in 6th position - a total of 3 spots gained from the original grid.When the second race of the afternoon finally arrived it was atrocious conditions awaiting the teams. Theweather had set in hard and the rain was making life very treacherous for those who had to pedal the Utesaround what is normally a high speed circuit - this time it was going to be a slow, wet and terrifying circuit.

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The weekend results so far had earned Huggi a 2nd row, 4th on the grid starting position, and when thelights went green Huggi was able to do one particular thing that he is very good at - starting. In the pouringrain he immediately gained 2 spots, and by the second turn he was in front, however a piece of sidewaysaction coming out of turn 3 meant he and Chris Hanley would be mirror to mirror down the back straight.From there it was what can only be described as a disaster for the team as Huggi lost his vision, due to afogging windscreen. Not only did he have to live with the pain of Utes going past him as he drove blind, buthe was having to drive by looking out the drivers door window, following the white line on the side of the track

with occasional excursions onto the puddled and dangerous grass verges. Naturally due to the safety issuehe had to pit for the crew to clear the screen - in one lap he had gone from 4th to 1st to 2nd to last, acrushing blow onto what had been a stellar weekend so far. From there it got worse, not only for the Mitre 10 Trade Racing Team but the entire racing field. One of theKernohan Utes had come off the track at terminal velocity and damaged the safety fencing - and that calledfor a yellow flag and the safety car. Given that the rest of the race would be run behind the safety car whilethe fence was being repaired and no positional changes could happen during that period, the race wasdeclared complete. That of course meant a last place for the orange and black machine - certainly not aposition that was deserved having gone into that last race in 4th overall, and immediately challenging for thelead and weekend honours.Post race while disappointed with the results there was the safety to consider. "That was #@%# scary!"claimed Huggi "I have never been that afraid to be in a car before!" and the conclusion was also the samefrom Brett Rudd who shares some of the garage facilities with the Mitre 10 Trade Racing Team. "Given thatthis is my first season of racing and I have nothing to compare it too - I'd still have give it an 11 though on the1 to 10 fear factor scale!" said Rudd, and a quick run up and down the rest of the garages had many of theother drivers giving a similar response.And so race three was to end a weekend of high's with a solemn low. In saying that, there was an enormousselection of positives to be taken from it. The Mitre 10 Trade Racing Team have proven their ability to fight fortrophy honours, and they have also managed to make their presence known to the rest of the category, theMotorsport fraternity, and the fan base as a whole. The next mission is to take the positive aspects and turnthem into even stronger ones at the next round - coming from the Christchurch based Ruapuna circuit onthe weekend of 9, 10, 11 December.For more information please visit > facebook.com/mitre10traderacingFor other enquiries please contact > Craig Lord 027 273 4156 craig@ontrackmedia.co.nz