Media release: 26th
February 2008
New Zealand Mini
Challenge 2007-8
Round 5
Levels International
Motor Raceway - Timaru
Ryan Aims High for
Timaru
Stepping up to the plate this
weekend at Timaru's Levels International Motor Raceway is Wilford
Motorsport's most experienced NZ Mini Challenge team driver Grant Ryan.
After spending many years in
Australia within
the racing industry, Wairarapa bred Ryan has gained experience on and
off the track
around the circuits of New South Wales including Oran Park and Eastern
Creek. He has even competed on the Mecca of all downunder motor
racing the mighty Bathurst where he drove a Ralliart MIVEC Mirage to a
class win
in a two hour enduro race in 2002.
"The car was great - it was made by
Ralliart in Japan and was faster than the Honda Integra Type R's. We
crossed the line first in class and sixth overall. The experience has
always stuck with me and I still have a photo of it as my screen saver
on my computer!" he says.
After all the experience gained
dealing in motorsport parts in Australia and New Zealand Ryan now has
Contour Brakes which is how he came to be connected with the Lower Hutt
based Wilford Motorsport.
A while back Wilford's Brent Melhop and Ryan
were talking about the running of the car over this season and his
taking a round in the team's
Mini Cooper S. Sometime later Ryan received a call from out of the blue
with Melhop asking if he
was still coming!
Ryan was keen and with only a brief stint in the
Moneyworks-ContourBrakes Mini Cooper S at a practice day at Manfeild,
he now finds himself on a 2am ferry and en-route to Timaru for Round
Five
of Motorsport NZ's Tier One Mini Challenge at Levels International
Motor Raceway.
The Wilford Motorsport team have had
a mixed but very successful season so far over the first four rounds
with three different drivers behind the wheel including Karl Wilson,
Brent Melhop and Marty Hunt all from the Wellington area.
Highlights for the season include a third place finish for Karl Wilson
at Pukekohe and rookie driver Marty Hunt leading one of his three
Manfeild races for half the distance eventually finishing fourth.
To date, Ryan is the most experienced driver to jump in the Mini Cooper
hot-seat and
has set himself a tough pre-race goal of Fourth overall for this
weekend. With front runner Gavin Dawson not
competing the next round at Timaru, Ryan believes he
has a good chance to achieve this target but won't
know for sure until he gets on to the South Island circuit.
"I'm aiming for fourth. I think I should be able to get it with Gavin
pulling out. Hmmm... better ask me after qualifying... I may have to
readjust it
all after that!" he jokes. "But I think it would be pretty hard to
knock over
Letica and Collins especially with it being Brent's home track." he
says.
Other strong contenders in the Mini Challenge besides Brent Collins and
Courtney Letica are Keeley Pudney and
Rhys McKay who are currently sitting in third and second on the points
table respectively.
Grant Ryan began racing in 1990
where
in a Honda Civic he competed in the SS2000 and then later in the NZ
Touring cars.
"I raced in the SS2000 for a year and a half and then thought I would
put the Civic in with the NZ tourers and run the car in both series. It
worked pretty well and If the two were at the same meeting with
theSS2000 second race and the NZ Tourers third then I could just drive
in to the pits, have a drink and then drive
out and line up on the grid again. Sometimes I would miss the warm up
lap but the car was already warm!" he laughs.
Originally from Masterton and now
resident of Lower Hutt, Ryan is
reluctant to offer his current age but his Wilford Motorsport team
mates describe him
as a "seasoned campaigner".
More recently Ryan has been competing in some endurance racing with
friend Glen Collins earning some podiums in the 1500cc front wheel
drive class but in the long term Grant Ryan has his sights on a much
higher goal which is to compete in the Nurburgring 24 hour.
"After this round in the Mini I will be competing at Round Six in a
Suzuki. After
these two rounds I will be able to get my International Licence and
start building up to getting to the Nurburgring 24 hour." he says.
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