2002 New Zealand Grand Prix

2002 New Zealand Grand Prix
47th New Zealand Grand Prix
Race details
Date 13 January 2002
Official name XLVII New Zealand Grand Prix
Location Teretonga Park, Feilding, New Zealand
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 2.57 km (1.59 miles)
Distance 40 laps, 102.8 km (63.6 miles)
Weather Fine
Pole position
Driver
Van Diemen RF94
Time 1:02.891
Fastest lap
Driver Fabian Coulthard Van Diemen RF94
Time 1:02.418 on lap 5
Podium
First
Van Diemen RF94
Second
Van Diemen RF93
Third
Van Diemen RF93

The 2002 New Zealand Grand Prix (officially known as the 2002 P&O Nedlloyd New Zealand Grand Prix) was an open wheel racing car race held at Teretonga Park, near Invercargill on 13 January 2002. This event marked the first time the New Zealand Grand Prix was run using Formula Ford machinery. It also served as the fourth round of the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and was held over two 18-lap segments.

The race was won by Fabian Coulthard in dominant fashion. The podium was completed by the two Team USA Scholarship drivers, Bryan Sellers and A. J. Allmendinger.

Race report

Coulthard was virtually untouchable in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship that season, having won every race in the series up to that point. In Teretonga, he continued that form by qualifying fastest in provisional qualifying and then topping the timesheets in the top-ten shootout session; both by some margin. Veteran Ken Smith was the closest competitor followed by Team USA Scholarship driver, Sellers. The Team USA Scholarship drivers of Sellers and Allmendinger were flown in to New Zealand a few days beforehand as part of a program organised by Jeremy Shaw and run by Kiwi John Crawford.

Unlike previous iterations of the event, the cars used for the marquee event were not equipped with fuel tanks large enough to cover the full distance of the race. Thus, the race was split up into two 18-lap segments, with the cars refueled in between. Any other modifications made to the cars in this time were prohibited. The second part of the race was then started under safety car. Coulthard led the opening portion of the race from Sellers, Allmendinger, Nicolas Ross, Simon Gamble, Simon Richards and Smith.

In the second portion of the race, Allmendinger, Ross and Gamble came to blows at turn one which forced Ross to climb back up the order and threw Gamble out of the race. Brady Kennett, winner of the 1995 event, struggled with oil pressure and would eventually have to settle for eleventh place. One of the biggest movers of the field was Nelson Hartley, brother of Formula One driver Brendon, who had climbed from 29th on the grid to finish sixth. Of all the cars however, it was Coulthard who reigned supreme. Taking the chequered flag to win the Grand Prix nearly four seconds ahead of Sellers, completing the race in just under an hour. Allmendinger recovered from his conflict with Ross and Gamble to take a consolatory third.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Car Q1 Q2 Grid
1 66 Fabian Coulthard Stealth Van Diemen RF94 1:02.553 1:02.891 1
2 11 Ken Smith Van Diemen Stealth 1:03.071 1:03.394 2
3 40 Bryan Sellers Van Diemen RF93 1:03.062 1:03.641 3
4 10 Nelson Hartley Van Diemen RF94 1:03.090 1:03.675 4
5 5 Simon Richards Van Diemen RF01 1:03.326 1:03.706 5
6 39 A. J. Allmendinger Van Diemen RF93 1:03.248 1:03.916 6
7 22 Chris Pither Spectrum 08 1:03.114 1:03.950 7
8 14 Nick Ross Van Diemen RF91 1:03.134 1:04.009 8
9 7 Simon Gamble Van Diemen RF90 1:03.245 1:04.186 9
10 6 Brady Kennett Van Diemen RF94 1:03.071 1:04.413 10
11 21 Todd Stewart Van Diemen RF92 1:03.878 11
12 12 Daniel Gaunt Van Diemen Stealth 1:04.295 12
13 57 Scott McKelvie Van Diemen RF92 1:04.363 13
14 47 David Payne Van Diemen Stealth 1:04.509 14
15 96 Karl Wilson Van Diemen RF94 1:04.707 15
16 76 Carl Wall Swift FB4 1:04.901 16
17 34 Steve Donaldson Van Diemen RF90 1:05.147 17
18 4 Andrew Higgins Van Diemen RF94 1:05.195 18
19 25 Stan Redmond Van Diemen RF92 1:05.506 19
20 70 Jayant Singh Van Diemen RF92 1:05.569 20
21 18 Ian Bisman Van Diemen RF96 1:05.684 21
22 15 Royce Bayer Swift SC92 1:06.065 22
23 72 Mashlino Buang Van Diemen RF92 1:06.139 23
24 33 Iskander Syed Van Diemen RF92 1:06.164 24
25 53 Robert Toshach Swift FB89 1:06.179 25
26 30 Ian Clements Lola 644G 1:06.315 26
27 86 John Clegg Reynard 84FF 1:06.394 27
28 85 Carmen Doran Ray 86F 1:06.478 28
29 77 Steve Edwards Swift FB88 1:07.017 29
30 88 Mathew Radisich Spectrum 08 1:07.213 30
31 43 Barry Leitch Van Diemen 1:07.305 31
32 27 Wayne Colville Van Diemen RF81 1:09.792 32
33 44 Noel Atley Crossle 55F 1:10.548 33
34 71 Robin Judkins Van Diemen RF89 1:10.565 34
35 36 Fred Hawthorne Van Diemen RF86 1:11.054 35
36 83 Fariqe Hairuman Van Diemen RF92 1:12.781 36
- 99 Matthew Hamilton Van Diemen RF91 no time
Source(s):[1][2]

Race

Pos No Driver Car Laps Time Grid
1 66 Fabian Coulthard Stealth Van Diemen RF94 36 59min 07.569sec 1
2 40 Bryan Sellers Van Diemen RF93 36 + 3.714 s 3
3 39 A. J. Allmendinger Van Diemen RF93 36 + 8.834 s 6
4 11 Ken Smith Stealth Van Diemen 36 + 11.252 s 2
5 5 Simon Richards Van Diemen RF01 36 + 16.634 s 5
6 10 Nelson Hartley Van Diemen RF94 36 + 17.328 s 4
7 14 Nick Ross Van Diemen RF91 36 + 19.462 s 8
8 21 Todd Stewart Stealth Van Diemen 36 + 21.338 s 11
9 12 Daniel Gaunt Stealth Van Diemen 36 + 22.119 s 12
10 22 Chris Pither Spectrum 08 36 + 22.231 s 7
11 6 Brady Kennett Van Diemen RF94 36 + 22.879 s 10
12 96 Karl Wilson Van Diemen RF94 36 + 22.903 s 15
13 47 David Payne Stealth Van Diemen 36 + 42.852 s 14
14 57 Scott McKelvie Van Diemen RF92 36 + 42.921 s 13
15 34 Steven Donaldson Van Diemen RF90 36 + 53.748 s 17
16 76 Carl Wall Swift FB87 36 + 53.934 s 16
17 15 Royce Bayer Swift SC92F 35 + 1 lap 22
18 53 Robert Toshach Swift FB89 35 + 1 lap 25
19 44 Noel Atley Crossle 55F 35 + 1 lap 33
20 25 Stan Redmond Van Diemen RF92 35 + 1 lap 19
21 18 Ian Bisman Van Diemen RF96 35 + 1 lap 21
22 99 Matthew Hamilton Van Diemen RF91 35 + 1 lap PL
23 85 Carmen Doran Van Diemen RF96 34 + 2 laps 28
24 77 Steve Edwards Swift FB88 34 + 2 laps 29
25 86 John Clegg Reynard 84FF 34 + 2 laps 27
26 36 Fred Hawthorne Van Diemen RF86 33 + 3 laps 35
27 30 Ian Clements Lola 644G 30 + 6 laps 26
Ret 72 Mashlino Buang Van Diemen RF92 30 Retired 23
Ret 88 Mathew Radisich Spectrum 010 26 Retired 30
Ret 7 Simon Gamble Van Diemen RF90 24 Accident 9
Ret 71 Robin Judkins Van Diemen RF89 19 Retired 34
Ret 4 Andrew Higgins Van Diemen RF94 17 Retired 18
Ret 43 Barry Leitch Van Diemen 12 Retired 31
Ret 33 Iskander Syed Van Diemen RF92 5 Retired 24
Ret 70 Jayant Singh Van Diemen RF92 3 Retired 20
Ret 83 Fariqe Hairuman Van Diemen RF92 2 Retired 36
DNS 9 Jonny Reid Van Diemen RF94 Did Not Start
DNS 17 Gordon McIntyre Swift FB91 Did Not Start
Source(s): [3][4][5]

References

  1. ^ "Formula Ford Qualifying". Archived from the original on 24 June 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Formula Ford - Top 10 Shoot Out". Archived from the original on 25 February 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  3. ^ "P&O Nedlloyd New Zealand Grand Prix 2002 standings". driverdb.com. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Look back in history Sunday: Fabian Coulthard wins the 2002 NZ Grand Prix". talkmotorsport.com. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  5. ^ "P&O Nedlloyd New Zealand Grand Prix". Archived from the original on 25 February 2002. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.