Despite the best efforts of ex-tropical cyclone Gabrielle to throw a spanner in the works at the last possible moment, Auckland-based motorsport event promoter Dr Jacob Simonsen remains ‘absolutely 100 % committed’ to his new 2023 season-opening event, a (2 x 4) = 8-hour endurance race for lightly modified production road cars around the soon-to-be-shuttered Pukekohe Park Raceway this Sunday (Feb 19).
Dubbed the ‘9-to-5 Final Fling’ in reference to the fact that in April this year the owners of the venue are closing down the motor racing circuit to focus of the thoroughbred side of their operation. The idea and timing of the new event have proved ‘hugely, wildly’ popular with the legions of club and club-level + drivers who originally got their start in motorsport here via one of Dr. Simonsen’other, earlier budget-friendly initiatives like the various 24 Hour ‘NaZCAR Lemons’ events which he has successfully organised and run at the Hampton Downs circuit just down the road from Pukekohe Park for the past 6 years.
However, despite some obvious similarities Dr. Simonsen stresses that the new 9 to 5 is very much an event in its own right, and NOT simply another‘Lemons’ or even a ‘Pro Series’ one in drag.
At its simplest the new event offers teams of two or more drivers of fully race-prepared budget – mid level production-based road/race cars an unparalleled opportunity to cut as many laps of the Pukekohe Park Raceway as they can fit into what in effect is going to be 2 x 4-hour stints.
Though the majority of the 80 teams that made the original cut came from Dr Simonsen’s various NaZCAR Lemons ventures the rest have come from outside his usual AASA-sanctioned world…. which he says is a good rather than a bad thing.
“Teams come from all walks of life – it’s great to see so many from series including Honda Cup, Mazda, SsangYong, BMW, 2KCup and dirt-track racing as well as a large number of grass-roots competitors, all represented and all finding out for themselves, just how much easier it is when you do most of your NZ motorsport ‘paperwork’ via the internet and our dedicated, alternative, sanctioning body partner, the AASA*.
“It’s so special and humbling to see the enormous support from our customers – there’s a lot of dedication and hard work (behind the scenes) going into preparation for these endurance events – there are awesome memories being created here!”
“Our format for all NaZCAR events is based around ‘inclusion’ – families, workmates and cling-ons can all be part of a team, and competitors at any level (from newbies to pros) are welcome.”
As well as creating a new track or event record for the biggest grid/field ever assembled for one race in Pukekohe’s 60-year history – ironically, a month before it closes – the 9 to 5 race could well come away with a second award; for ‘most drivers in one race.’
Finally, in an interesting aside, both formats of the track will be used (with full back straight in the morning then with the chicane in the afternoon) giving drivers the chance to say goodbye to both layouts.
Having been instrumental in setting up and trialling the 24 Hours of LeMons events in Australia from 2015, Dr Simonsen brought the franchise with him on his permanent return home to New Zealand, where he ran his first (non-continuous) 24 Hours of LeMons at Hampton Downs.
He has since run various formats of 8, 12 Hour and 24-Hour Lemons races at North Island circuits, as well as his hugely popular sanctioned National Endurance Championship 3-hour and 6-hour races, for an ever-expanding group of keen teams, with an impressive raft of events under his belt so far!
More information on upcoming NaZCAR events can be found on the 24 hours of Nazcar page on Facebook at facebook.com/Nazcar24
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