Official press release – March 16, 2010
Big Guns Racing

The Big Guns Racing Team doubled in driver numbers (from two to four), doubled their influence on the race event and recorded a career best finish in the process to close out what was a memorable start to the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Series protected by Armor All.

Brad “Packers” Patton recruited world-renowned Motorcycle daredevil Robbie “Mad Man” Maddison to steer the DC Clothing / Chill #14 XR8 and Peter “Gangsta” Burnitt claimed Kiwi superstar Chris “the Kid” Pither to assist with the CNW #4 Falcon

As it turns out, both combinations made distinct impressions of their own for many different reasons!

For Peter Burnitt, the third race of the weekend was definitely the sweetest with Chris “the Kid” Pither crossing the line in fourth place as the chequered flags flew in the safety car shortened “Legends” event finale.

Burnitt had ably supported his talented international race partner and the explosive Kiwi rocketed into the top five with the immaculate #4 CNW XR8 Falcon to snare a bag full of points and some significant TV time.

The ‘pointy end’ finish was a just reward for Burnitt and Pither who had both been on the money for much of the four day Clipsal 500 affair.

Robbie Maddison attracted an enormous amount of media and fan attention throughout the course of the weekend and certainly attracted a bit of concrete as well!
“Yeah the DC Shoes / Chill Falcon looked a little worse for wear by the end of the last race,” grinned Brad Patton, “but it’s a war out there and sometimes when you go into battle you have to expect a few scars.”
Scars or wounds, Maddison and Patton certainly demonstrated plenty of intestinal fortitude as they charged back from a busy start to qualifying.
Patton was thrilled to have shared his car with Maddison.

“DC Clothing were here basically all weekend and they were thrilled,” he admits, “and Robbie is just a total ambassador with the fans. He was very accessible and very accommodating, even when the heat is on to get the car out there or we’re practicing our driver changes.”
Maddison added a touch of showbiz to the Pit Stop and compulsory driver change for the Legends Race on Sunday when he back-flipped (no, not with a motorcycle) off the bonnet of the car before belting in after Brad Patton.

Chris Pither was outstanding. “I really enjoyed racing with this team. Peter and Brad run a great team and we had good car speed all weekend. The CNW Falcon was a rocket and we finished strongly. I’m really thankful for the effort everyone has gone to this weekend,” the likeable New Zealander grinned.

In summary, this is how the weekend looked for Big Guns Racing…

Brad Patton
Practiced well and qualified 8th. Finished 9th in his race and brushed the wall. Despite ‘impacting’ the wall three times the XR8 was still truckin!
An eventual 18th in the Legends Race on Sunday wasn’t a true reflection of the effort put in by Brad and Robbie!

Peter Burnitt
Qualified 23rd but stormed through to 16th – one of his best drives to make up 7 positions!
Robbie Maddison
Hit the wall in practice in his V8 Ute debut but was still fast. Drove in the MINI Challenge as well! Finished 19th in his first ever race in a V8 Ute after qualifying 22nd.

Chris Pither
Qualified #2. Penalised for rolling on the start, served a drive through in Race One then stormed back to finish 11th.
Finished 4th in the Legends event after taking over from Peter Burnitt in the driver change.

The next round of the 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Series, protected by Armor All, will be held at Winton Motor Raceway on May 14-16 where the Big Guns Racing Team aim to continue their excellent early series form.

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