Last year’s Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series South Island Champion, Chris White Junior of Prebbleton in Canterbury, is contesting both the North and South Island Championships of the series this season and he got his North Island campaign off to the best possible start at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon in Feilding this weekend.
The sixteen-year-old won two of the three races and finished second in the other to win the opening round from reigning National Champion Simon Baker of Wellington and Leo Bult of Auckland.
Baker, who had qualified fastest, won the opening race of the round on Saturday after an epic battle with White Junior. Baker led all the way but the lead was seldom more than 1 second and the gap at the flag was .320 of a second with White Junior recording the fastest lap of the race. Aucklander’s Leo Bult and Warren Crowther were third and fourth respectively with Steve Brown of Pukekohe fifth and Stuart Lawton of Paraparaumu sixth. Karl Gaines of Auckland, Nigel Edger of Hamilton, plus Aucklanders Lance Gerlach and Alex Canty completed the top ten.
Sunday morning’s twelve lap, top ten reverse grid race, saw Gaines quickly into the lead before White Junior came through from ninth on the grid to take the lead on lap 5. From that point White Junior steadily pulled away. Leo Bult passed Gaines on the final lap to clinch second, 6.047 seconds in arrears, with Gaines third. Edger was fourth in a tightly packed group consisting of Baker who claimed fifth after passing Crowther on the final lap, then Lawton and Brown. Canty and Elton Wichman rounded out the top ten while White Junior set another fastest lap.
The finale on Sunday afternoon featured another good battle. White Junior got away into the lead before Baker moved into second on lap 4. Baker then reeled off a trio of quick laps in the 1 minute 17 second bracket as he tried to hunt down White Junior, the South Islander recording a similar lap himself. They fought it out all the way to the flag, White Junior getting there by .271 of a second with Baker second with a new lap record of 1 minute 17.673 seconds to his name. Bult was third with Crowther fourth and Edger fifth. Lawton, Gaines, Brown, Gerlach and Wichman rounded out the top ten.
The next round of the North Island Championship will take place at Taupo International Motorsport Park over the weekend of 11/12 November and prior to that the South Island Championship commences at Levels Raceway, Timaru on 3/4 November.
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