Simon Beirne 'Jnr Burner' of Christchurch described it as one of his best moments in motorsport. He had just completed the final race of the Trans Tasman V8 Ute Test Match Series around the streets of Hamilton and after three superb performances he had finished third overall for the weekend.

"To get a podium spot at the biggest motor racing event in New Zealand - I'm over the moon. It's right up there with winning at the A1GP World Cup Of Motorsport event at Taupo in 2009."

"I came here just aiming to run clean and hard with luck on our side. It was unbelievable to come here for the first time and start with laps of 1 minute 46.2 in practice, to bring that down to 1.43.5 in qualifying, and then 1.41.7 in the races. Dicing with Colin Corkery in the first race was some of the best racing I've ever been involved in."

Simon finished third in this mornings race in his Team McDonald's Falcon, starting from fourth on the grid and charging past Australian Robert 'Captain' Jarvis on the second lap. "After that I forgot about those behind me and just hunted Australian Kim 'The Assassin' Jane in second place. It was all about attack! My exhaust system came loose over the last two laps but we made it to the finish to score a podium at such a big event." Making Simon's effort even more meritorious was the fact that the Hamilton event was only his second race outing after a twelve month break while he took care of increased business and family commitments.

Prior to todays race Simon had qualified the Team McDonald's Falcon fifth and then raced to an impressive fourth place in the opening race after his epic duel with fellow kiwi, the internationally experienced Colin Corkery. Then in the second test match Simon made a fantastic pass to pick up two spots in one move as he raced to third place in a great effort for the New Zealand team in their Trans Tasman Test Match with the visiting Australians.

Simon very quickly got to grips with the daunting Hamilton Street circuit. On Saturday he said, "this a circuit to attack. You square the corners up and open the throttle early. I even clipped the wall at one stage, that is how close it got."

Simon's father Graham 'Snr Burner' Beirne was also in fine form at Hamilton although an incident in the second race dented a great effort.

'Snr Burner' set the 7th fastest qualifying time but started ninth in the first race due to the test match rules that ensured one kiwi driver and one Australian shared each row of the grid. Graham sealed ninth place for the New Zealand team in the opening race but his John Jones Steel Falcon was hit from behind in the second, shattering a wheel. After a pitstop to change the wheel Graham rejoined to finish 16th. Graham featured in a fantastic battle in the final race. Despite having run out of brakes he battled it out in the closing stages with fellow kiwi Peter 'Rocketman' Robb, the race ending as Graham tried to squeeze between the concrete pit wall and Robb on the run to the flag. "It was a classic case of Peter's Holden having the power out of the corners. The best thing about the whole weekend is that we have shown that we can compete with the Aussies."

Graham has excelled this season taking a podium in the National Championship with a third place, while Simon also achieved a New Zealand Series podium two years ago when he finished runner-up. At 62 years of age Graham has never driven better.

In addition to the support of major partners McDonalds and John Jones Steel in conjunction with Simon Beirne Limited, “Integrity in Vehicle Brokering,” the team also has support from Bruce Raxworthy Panel & Paint, Chevron Quality Cars-Driving Excellence, Business IT Software Management Systems, Mag & Turbo Warehouse, Jeffs Vehicle Deliveries and Lets Get Graphic and DJ Hewitt Builders Ltd.

Photo: SportProMedia