Heartwarming reason behind PremiAir owner's NZ absence

It would usually take an army to prise Peter Xiberras away from a race track, but this weekend is a little bit different for the PremiAir Racing owner.

Xiberras won’t be trackside with PremiAir Racing in New Zealand this weekend, with the team owner's son getting married.

It’s the first time Xiberras will miss a Supercars round since he opted to compete in his Top Fuel dragster in Sydney, missing the Perth Supercars event last May.

“Speaking of being busy personally – I won’t actually be on-track for the Taupo Super 440 this weekend and instead will be keeping up with all that is happening with the team with our WhatsApp Channel,” Xiberras said in a team release.

"While I am of course going to miss being part of the action, it is for a good reason – my son James is getting married this weekend!

“[Wife] Carmen and I are very excited to see him and his beautiful partner Jamilla celebrate their nuptials."

PremiAir Racing is chasing its first podium of the season in New Zealand, with James Golding’s eighth in Sydney the best result for the team through two rounds.

The team will also welcome new CEO Gwyn Dolphin in coming weeks, in a year that has already seen Xiberras step away from drag racing to focus on his business and Supercars team.

With the Chevrolet squad hunting results, Xiberras has called on his team to improve qualifying performance to give itself the best chance of success in New Zealand.

"It is no secret that qualifying has been a bit of a bug bear for us of late,” he said.

“While we have had plenty of highlights including numerous Shootouts, starting positions in the top 10 and top five, and even a pole position, we have also often found ourselves struggling for that one lap pace.

"With how competitive this game is, starting down the grid is a real quick way to hold yourself back, so it is of course something we are really focusing heavily on and that will be especially true this weekend for the Taupo Super440.

"Doing so will help us to unlock more of our true potential and performance on the track – especially this weekend if we can improve our qualifying while also keeping or advancing the race pace we had there last year."

Supercars will hit the track in New Zealand for two practice sessions on Friday.