THE BRITISH F 1 RACER S WHO ARE OFF TO TAKE ON THE WORLD
R
acer Frankie Wainman Jr has won more major titles than any other driver in the history of BRISCA F1 stock car racing, but there is still one title on his bucket list.
Wainman Jr is captain of Team GB’S British Lions stock car team, made up of six drivers from BRISCA F1 who join together to attempt what many believe is the impossible – to win the New Zealand Superstock Teams Championships.
There are 13 teams taking part in the event next weekend at the Robertson Holden International Speedway in Palmerston North. The top four points-scoring teams on Saturday go through to the semifinal knockout stage the following evening, with the winners of those two races facing off in the final.
In each eight-car race, four cars from each team go head-to-head over 10-15 laps. Each team has ‘runners’ and ‘blockers’. Runners attempt to win the race, blockers try to stop the opposition winning. It isn’t, however, that straightforward. At any time during the race a driver must be able to swap roles depending on how the race develops.
And that is how the Teams Champs is won. It is not about being in the fastest car, but by being a team player where the best drivers are able to read a race to benefit the team.
The British team, however, is always at a major disadvantage. For 11 months of the year the drivers race as individuals focused on a nine-month season of BRISCA F1 stock car racing. And then they have to acclimatise to driving different cars and a style of racing they only compete in three days a year.
Traditionally, the British outfit spend three weeks in New Zealand, and begin their sojourn in the World 240 Championship at Rotorua on the first weekend, followed by a one-off Teams event seven days later as preparation for the Teams Championship itself the week after.
The British Lions team was created in 2009, and remarkably finished second at its first attempt. The squad has finished runners-up twice since, in 2016 and 2017.
It was in 2017 the British Lions had their finest moment, making the final after obliterating one of the event favourites, the Gisborne Giants.
After the race the four Team GB cars drove along the front straight and pulled up, line astern, in front of the main grandstand. As one, the 15,000-strong crowd roared their approval.
None of the British drivers had ever experienced an atmosphere like it. For Lee Fairhurst, a regular member of the team for the past five years, it was a moment he will never forget.
“Look at that,” Fairhurst says, as he raises one of his arms to eye level. Just talking about that semifinal makes the hairs on his arms literally stand up on end. “To be there was electric. That semi-final was unbelievable.”
In the final, the British Lions faced the Hawke’s Bay Hawkeyes, who had beaten the outright favourites and home team, the Palmerston Panthers, in their semi-final.
But the Hawkeyes made short work of the Lions in the final.
Wainman Jr’s fuel pump failed in the race, and the team captain could only watch from the sidelines. By the end, only Fairhurst was left running.
A gallant effort came to a disappointing end. Fairhurst saw how much it meant to Wainman Jr.
“You could see it in Frank’s eyes when we got second that year,” says Fairhurst, “The thing is his hunger to win, and that counts for a lot when you are there.”
Last year the team comfortably qualified into the last four but were soundly beaten in the semifinal by host team and eventual winners Palmerston North Panthers, with Fairhurst in the centre of the action, being rolled over twice in the race.
“There is no hard feelings when you race over there,” says Fairhurst. “We are all in the bar afterwards together and there is a really good atmosphere.
“We’ve got a good team now, a good group of cars, and some good guys helping us over there, so there is nothing to say we can’t win it one year.”
But will it be this year? Racing alongside Wainman Jr and Fairhurst is Bobby Griffin, who was part of the 2017 team, but the three remaining drivers are all rookies. Wainman’s son Frankie Jr has had just two teams races, while Karl Hawkins and Ben Riley had their first tries in teams races only last weekend.
So it is a relatively inexperienced outfit this time around, but a longterm strategy is being put in place for the future.
“We are in the process of building a team of drivers who can commit to three weeks in New Zealand for the next few years,” says team director Guy Parker. “But none of this would be possible without the support we get from the team we have based in New Zealand.”
As for Wainman Jr, he is confident the championship title will one day be heading to Britain. “It’s all down to how your luck is on the day,” Wainman Jr says. “Two years ago was just a dream until my fuel pump packed up in the final.
“It was one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever had happen in a stock car – being sat there, watching from the infield and not being able to do a thing about it. You feel like you have let everybody down.
“In New Zealand they all say we will never win the Teams Champs, but I know we will. We have a full squad of six drivers this year and I believe all six will make the country proud.” ■