Pedersen on podium in debut

Palmerston North-based student Ant Pedersen made a huge impression in his V8 Supercar debut at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide last weekend.

While many drivers struggle to get to grips with the unique characteristics of the powerful V8 Supercars Pedersen, whose previous racing has been in MINI Challenge and the Porsche GT3 Cup in New Zealand, not only adapted, but shone.

The 21-year-old ended the weekend on the podium, third overall behind two experienced series regulars, Steve Owen and James Moffat.

Pedersen received a last-minute opportunity to drive an MW Motorsport Ford Falcon in the opening round of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Development Series around the daunting 3.2-kilometre Adelaide circuit. He made the most of it racing to sixth place in the opening race of the round and then a fourth in the second contest around the streets of Adelaide.

Pedersen quickly adapted to the unique Falcon V8 Supercar, setting times that immediately had him to the fore in practice. He went on to qualify fifth in the strong field and then produced two excellent race results.

Pedersen's result is even more impressive when it is considered that it is widely acknowledged that V8 Supercars are a very different machine to most other race cars and that the performance came on the unforgiving concrete-lined Adelaide street circuit. His most recent racing experiences have been at the wheel of a Porsche GT3, a precision racing machine and a very different car to the V8.

The next round of the Fujitsu Series is at Queensland Raceway at Ipswich, near Brisbane, at the end of April. After such an impressive debut with little testing prior to the opening round it would be a tragedy if Pedersen was not able to find the support to continue and build on this initial success.

- © Fairfax NZ News