9-1-91 10-1-91 Hamilton drive By JOHN HAWKINS Big and powerful saloon cars always capture the motor racing publie's imagination, particularly when they are painted red. This season a new car, which fits this description has burst on to the Hansell's Sun Valley Tranzam championship scene driven by a cool headed young driver, Kayne Scott, of Hamilton, whose rise to prominence in motorsport has been equally rapid. When Scott, aged 22, was chosen as driver for the American-built Shell Ford Sierra turbe by the team owner, Mark Petch, many pundits expressed their reservations. Some questioned his experience at this level, but Scott rejects any suggestion that he lacks in race experience and says that in his years of motor sport he has probably racked up more race mileage than many of the more senier drivers. His form in the series to date, and that of the Sierra has been outstanding. At Teretonga his speed surprised the opposition including established front runners Kieran Wills and Rodger Freeth, and the no ermpromise race car has proven the catalyst KAYNE SCOTT for a major rethink in New Zealand racing saloon construction. The opposition was again left gasping at the Leveis on, Sunday, where Scott and the Sierra estabished a lap record, and only a brave drive by Wills prevented Scott from making it six wins from six starts. r makes Scott began his competition career in Moto X at the age of 10. A time in karting followed but he was always anxious to move up and says it was probably a mistake not to have stayed long enough in any class to search for titles. After junior and senior karting Scott moved to Mini 7, where, once again he gained several lap records but was soon on the move firstly to an outdated BMW 635 at the Wellington Street race in 1987 and then to an early M3 which he shared with John Sorrenson at Bathurst and Oran Park in Australia. Although he enjoyed the challenge of Bathurst Scott says that if he were to do it again he would prefer an outright competitive car as he found the experience of being passed on the straights by more powerful cars frustrating. After contesting the New Lealand Touring Car championship with the BMW M3 formerly raced by Trevor Crowe, and winning two rounds, Scott was invited to drive an American Transam Nissan in last seasons Sun Valley series by the cars owners Arthur Fickling and Crai Judge. waves This proved a trying time for Scott as the car, while immaculate, was still new and unsorted and the tear struggled throughout the season to become competitive. The car though had immense potential according to Scott, being even more powertul that the present Sierra. After last season's disappointment Scott was approached to drive the Sierra, which was imported by Petch after a successful career in the United States. Scott is full of praise for his present team and particulariy Petch who he says has worked virtually fulltime since last March assembling the right team and parts to present the competitive package that now looks set to dominate the championship. Unlike most other talented young racers Scott has no ambitica to race single seaters. "Some of the guys looking for money to race single seaters should face reality. Single seaters are a dead end as far as I'm concerned. With a domestic market of 3 million people it doesn't make sense trying to find a $I million budget to race single seaters. It just doesn't happen in this country. American driver hopes to break Kiwi stranglehold By JOHN HAWKINS Success has never come easy to American drivers contesting the Peter Jackson Formula Pacific series. In the face of the dominance of the powertul triumvirate of New Zealand single seater racing, Baird, Smith and Radisich many an American challenge has wilted, but the latest challenger, Mark Smith, aged 22, is not easily deterred. Smith, whe drives for the Graeme Lawrence Autospori team, is on his second visit to the New Zealand series having appealed as a handy prospect on his first visit here in 1989. Since then he has gone on to win the United States Super Vee championship and gained third place in last year's ARS series, gaining the rookie of the year award along the way. In the first two rounds of the Peter Jackson series, at Teretonga and Levels, Smith has looked to be the only driver in the field with a realistic chance of matching the dominant New Zealand trio. Although Smith raced at the Wigram airfield circuit on his last visit, his inexperience with MARK SMITH the Ruapuna track should not present too many problems in the third round of the series this weekend. Smith initially had some difficulty readjusting to the ground effect Formula Pacific cars after a season driving in the American Racing Series, which runs as a support series at all but two of the CART (indy car) championship rounds. He says though that he prefers the Pacific cars, which also run softer compound tyres than those used in ARS. During the year, apart irem his racing activities, Smith, Eke most other young professional drivers, is involved in a constant search for sponsorship to back his racing career. This he says is more difficult in the United States than mest New Zealanders imagine, given the state of that country's economy and intense competition for available funds from a wide variety of other sports and activities. Along the way Smith has found time to complete his studies, majoring in business management. While his early career was backed by his supportive father, mainly through Evergreen his family's aviation company, Smith says that two-thirds of his sponsorship contacts are from outside companies, which is important to him in terms of independence and self-reliance. Perhaps unusually for an American Smith sees Formula One as the ultimate discipline in motorsport and would like to take in some European Formula 3000 or Formula 3 racing. Sponsorship considerations however will probably lead to him contesting the ARS series again in the coming season. Smith has no hesitation in naming money as the biggest obstacle in attracting American drivers to contest the New Zealand international series. While he knows of several top drivers who are keen to compete here he estimates that it would take $70,000 to contest the New Zealand series competitively, wich equates to taking abeut one third away from the budget required to contest either of the two American series. He is under no illusions as to the strength of the opposition in New Zealand, particularly that of Baird, Ken Smith and Radisich, any of which he feels could compete with the top drivers in either the West or East Coast series in the United States.