Jason Bargwanna has scored victory in the latest round of the BNT New Zealand V8s Championship at Teretonga.
The onset of rain, hail, thunder, fiercely cold winds made conditions difficult, but Bargwanna was able to keep his Ford Falcon on the track and up the front, despite a misfiring engine.
The former Bathurst 1000 winner posted a win and two seconds to outscore series leader Angus Fogg by three points.
“I’ve raced in horrendous conditions in V8 Supercars. When I won Bathurst it was a bit like this (but) I really enjoy racing in these conditions,” ‘Bargs’ said.
Aucklander Fogg won the other two races in his Ford but came fifth in Race 1 after starting from the back of the grid because he had spun on his top 10 shootout lap.
The meeting saw the emergence of a new young Kiwi star – Martin Short. The 20-year-old came very close to winning the round in after scoring second places in the first two races. Short had a good lead in the final until he made a mistake at the tricky Elbow corner.
“I locked up and went off on the wet grass, and it took forever to get back on the track,” the former Formula Ford champion said.
“But we’ve definitely been getting quicker and quicker, and we had a new engine for this meeting.”
Fogg remains 53 points ahead of Bargwanna in the title standings, with Auckland Ford driver Tim Edgell third and Short now fourth.
The next round of the championships is at Timaru this weekend.
