To rain on Supercars parade
each Supercars team has remain left behind. They have to put all of their spare parts into a small container, which comes over on air freight, along with the cars.
The drivers don’t concern themselves with what’s packed away, but if something goes badly wrong with their cars they will.
‘‘As drivers, it’s not something we think about,’’ Coulthard said.
‘‘If it’s an event we take the trucks to, or if it’s a flyaway event, we go out there and give it our all regardless.’’
Like the four other Kiwi drivers in Supercars, the Pukekohe round is a special one for Auckland-raised Coulthard.
‘‘They are all important and equate to the bigger picture of contributing to our championship,’’ he said.
‘‘But to race in front of our home crowd is awesome and the support we have as Kiwis coming here is fantastic and we really notice that support.
‘‘All the races we do in Australia are heavily supported by Australians, although there area few Kiwis who come over to support us. But to be back racing in New Zealand is awesome.’’
Kiwi driver Andre Heimgartner will be sporting a special livery for his Nissan this week. Heimgartner was 12 when he learnt to drive H-pattern manual in a Nissan Skyline around Pukekohe before graduating to Formula Vee.
The Pukekohe circuit is also where the Kiwi star grew up watching his hero Greg Murphy race, so this circuit is a significant place for him and his team decided to produce a special Kiwi inspired livery for the round.
‘‘I’m extremely proud of what the team has produced, this has to be the best-looking race car I’ve had,’’ Heimgartner said.
‘‘The black and white theme on the car looks incredible and it’s great to give back to the New Zealand fans with a livery that’s dedicated to them.’’