Christina Orr-West struggles to remember if she’s ever won three races in one weekend.

The Edgecumbe dairy farmer, who is also a motorsport competitor, had the perfect weekend at Manfeild on the Chris Amon Circuit over Labour Weekend, with three successes in her purple and grey V6 Falcon.

This season, she’s changed from the yellow-and-black everyone is used to seeing her in with Dayle ITM in the Toyota 86 class and is racing in the NZ Six Sedans with a V6 Falcon.

At the opening round on October 25 and 26, she had a perfect couple of days aside from a slight hiccup with an issue during practice.

“It was great fun. I enjoyed competing down there and it was great to come away with three wins.

“It was pretty special. I love it down there. It’s my favourite track, it always has been.

“There’s just something about that track which makes me enjoy it.

“The last race was really exciting and close. I started from the back of the grid and managed to work my way right through the other class and the front of my class with about two laps left. It was an exciting race we put on for the crowd.”

She said it was great to see numbers at the event.

“It was free, so it was quite exciting racing in front of quite a big crowd.”

Picking up three race wins and fastest qualifier is something Orr-West’s proud of.

“I don’t actually think I have ever done that before. It was nice to go out there and actually be able to trust the car and what you’re doing. It was nice to get through without any issues.”

Orr-West said it was even better having her husband and children there to see her win.

After multiple seasons of frustration and mechanical issues, Orr-West decided to take a step back.

She said dropping down to this class was to help find her racing mojo again.

“It’s all about having fun and that is exactly what Manfeild was – a fun weekend with a good group of drivers who are there to race, not take people out or target someone. It was good, clean enjoyable racing, which I liked.

Orr-West hopes to keep her form going when they head to Hampton Downs next month.

“Bell did well. I know I don’t have the fastest car, but I certainly think driver nous helps.

“I will be aiming to carry on winning there; that would be pretty special, but the main thing is to have fun and enjoy my driving again.”

The NZ Six sedans line up on the grid just behind the V8 Utes with the category seeing 6-cylinder Commodores and Falcons competing in an affordable, grassroots category designed for close racing while also nurturing up-and-coming talent.

What NZ Sixes and V8 Utes also have in common is that both are strictly controlled categories in terms of weight and power output, ensuring close, competitive racing, favouring drivers with the smartest playbooks rather than the biggest chequebooks.

With two configurations of Falcons and Commodores on track across two categories, they’re keeping alive the classic Ford vs Holden rivalry that has been a staple of motor racing on both sides of the Tasman for decades.

The NZV8 Utes 2025-26 season spans three racing circuits over six months. After the Manfeild season opener, they head to Hampton Downs in November, then again in early March, followed by Taupo in late March, then again in April, wrapping up with a season finale at Hampton Downs in May.