Tauranga’s Ben Thomasen says winning the first day of the Polaris NZ 1000 was a matter of staying clear of the duelling unlimited-class cars in his Polaris RZR1000 and taking his opportunities as they arose.
Starting from pole on a slippery, muddy track, Thomasen was acutely aware of the bigger, more powerful cars of multiple ‘1000’ winners Clim Lammers, Hikurangi, and Tony McCall of Manukau. The latter were pushing hard from the green flag to take the lead, and Thomasen said he initially gave way and allowed them to go through.
“I knew the big cars would be fighting for the lead and I wanted to stay away from that and drive my own race,” he said afterward.
Though he had expected Lammers and McCall to clear out on the faster parts of the course, Thomasen was surprised to find he was able to stay with the pair as Lammers took the lead and McCall slotted his car in behind him.
Then on the second lap, Thomasen was able to slip past McCall and begin closing in on Lammers.
Early in that lap, Lammers slid wide on a slippery uphill corner, his car becoming lodged in a pine tree. In the process of getting free, McCall and Thomasen slipped past and away. Lammers rejoined in 31st place. Tony McCall tore out a brake line and lost time in the pits
“After that I just concentrated on driving my own race. The RZR ran faultlessly all day and with a good spanner check we’ll do it over again tomorrow.”
Lammers fought his way back through the rest of the race to be second at the flag, one lap down on Thomasen. Raana Horan was third in a Nissan Titan V8.
Thomasen only needed to refuel once through the whole 500 km and is the only competitor to have completed all ten laps. He also set fastest lap of the day: 41 minutes, 41 seconds.
The 2015 Polaris NZ 1000 starts again on Sunday at 8.00 am.
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