The weekend’s second to last round of the Valvoline D1NZ Pro Championship for 2023 is a hero or zero opportunity for the top-six of the points table – as they take to Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon 14-16 April.
The previous round win by Dave Steadman opened new opportunity for others in the championship to lay in wait for a chance at the top step. Even with an 84-point lead, defending champion Fanga Dan Woolhouse has shown how quickly a fortune can change.
Holding second in the championship chase by two points, Kurt Blackie is up against it this weekend.
“It’s not a track I’ve done well at previously and the pressure is on,” he said. “I do well under pressure, but I want to go into this weekend with a cool calm head and hopefully everything goes well mechanical wise and we come out on the pointy end of the championship again.”
Following Friday’s open practice, the teams have a final practice late Saturday morning to dial in for the top-24 battle run later in the afternoon. Televised live on Sunday, the field will be cut from 16 to 8 just prior to the lunch break with the top-4 and final held later in the afternoon.