A 32 strong field of drivers from the 2011 Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Armor All are in preparation for the round 3 battle at Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin 17 - 19 June.
For the first time since they appeared at Hidden Valley in 2005, the V8 Utes will feature in four races over the weekend, offering more action packed entertainment for the fans.
One to watch out for will be Holden driver Grant Johnson who holds the current lap record at Hidden Valley and has posted five out of six possible podiums including three wins (2006, 2009, 2010), one second (2007) and one third (2005).
"The last couple of years I put the car on pole and without even doing a practice session. It says something about the track, it suits my driving style. To prepare I go through in car vision from previous years to just remind myself of braking points and just go out and do it!"
Johnson, the reigning champ, has picked up support from Corestaff and Holiday Inn for the Round.
The West Aussie trails ENZED driver's championship leader Chris Pither by only 1 point heading into the Northern Territory event.
"I'm confident that if we get a good run in Darwin we will be leading the championship at the end. I mean we are probably where we are in the championship because of the bad qualifying we had at the Clipsal event where I just couldn't get a clear run," said Johnson.
Ice Break Racing's Chris Pither, has only raced at Darwin once before placing fourth in 2010 and will be setting his sights on a victory to keep the series lead.
"Grant is showing the experience of a series champ, he had a good run at Clipsal and Perth and he is my main competition. I will be aiming to beat him as he is closest to me in the series points," said Pither.
"I will be concentrating on my own race. It's good to be leading but there are still five rounds to go so it's just a matter of being consistent."
Kim "The Assassin" Jane (Bob Jane T-Marts) and Coopers Clear Racing's Jack Elsegood also have a good history in Darwin, Jane coming in second in 2010 and 2008 and third in 2006, Elsegood has won there twice (2006/2007) and claimed third for the round there last year.
Returning to the V8 Ute field for the first time this year is Yanis Derums, who has raced in Darwin every year since 2007. Derums stepped out of full-time driving this year and leases his car out to Williams Race Tech, which is currently driven by Graham Edwards. Derums will drive V8 Ute Veteran Charlie "Handlebars" Kovacs' Holden for the round, whilst Kovacs will miss only his second V8 Ute round since he started in the Series in 2001.Other drivers joining the Series for the round include Auto One Wildcard driver Tim Blanchard and Rick Gill who will make his first appearance in Darwin in a V8 Ute. Blanchard, a seasoned V8 Supercar driver is looking forward to his second V8 Ute appearance, after racing at the Armor All Gold Coast 600 last year, while Perth based Rick Gill was a top three V8 Ute qualifier during Round 2 at Barbagallo Raceway recently.
Two of the weekends four V8 Ute races will be televised Live on Seven and Seven Mate.
See below the full schedule for Round 4, of the 2011 Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Armor All at the, Sky City Triple Crown, Darwin 17 - 19 June.
Friday, 17th June 9:05am Practice 1Friday, 17th June 12:40pm Practice 2Saturday, 18th June 8:40am QualifyingSaturday, 18th June 10:35am Race 1Saturday, 18th June 2:45pm Race 2Sunday, 19th June 10:30am Race 3Sunday, 20th June 1:30pm Race 4
The 2011 Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Armor All features 32 Ford and Holden production based V8 racing utes - covering 8 championship rounds, and 26 races through five states of Australia. The series is televised nationally on the SEVEN Network, through Fox Sports, TV3 New Zealand, Motors TV Europe and over 40 countries worldwide.
