Release 7/06/2009 - John Hepburn Racing

HEPBURN THIRD IN NORTH ISLAND ENDURANCE SERIES

Timaru driver John Hepburn and co-driver John Penny of Taupo finished third in the North Island Endurance Series when the two-round series ended at Taupo on Saturday.

Hepburn and Penny brought their Ken Hopper prepared Holden Commodore V8 home in seventh place on Saturday after a troubled race. However when that effort was added to their second place finish at the opening round at Pukekohe three weeks ago it gave them third place overall in the series and third place in their class for the series.

The Pukekohe event was a 6 Hour race and on that occasion Hepburn and Penny shared the driving duties with Shane Charlton of Auckland. Yesterday's race at Taupo was a 4 Hour event and Penny did a great job in the first stint before handing over to Hepburn.

However the Z bar in the front suspension broke during the former motorcycle champion's turn at the wheel, leaving Hepburn to nurse the car home over the final 40 minutes of the race.

"The right front wheel was moving from the back of the the inner guard to the front and we were probably driving around slower than we would have in a road car," he said. "We had to back right off, we couldn't push hard, we couldn't brake hard."

Nevertheless Hepburn brought the car home to the finish and considering the circumstances he expressed himself "not too disappointed" with the result.

The series attracted a quality field in a variety of machinery and third overall in the series was an excellent result.

John Hepburn's motor racing efforts are supported by Auto Align, Timaru Signs & Graphix, Blastcraft, Petrie Mayman Clark, Robinsons Auto Dismantlers, Drummond & Etheridge, Timaru Metal Recyclers, Ashley Electronics, Paul Smith Earthmoving, Auto Gas, Pit Stop Otahuhu and Crash Repairs.