SHEPHERD TAKES RACE ONE VICTORY. ROUND 2 SATURDAY REPORT

n a day punctuated by record lap times, Michael Shepherd returned to form at Manfeild today by taking race 1 victory in round 2 of the Formula First National Championship. After having set the fastest officially-recorded lap time ever seen at Manfeild during qualifying, Shepherd capped off the perfect day by driving a calculated race to take victory from Championship leader Nick Cassidy.

Qualifying A field of 21 cars fronted up for qualifying in what can only be described as perfect conditions. Clear skies, no wind, high grip levels and cold air combined to produce the fastest Formula First qualifying session ever seen at Manfeild. Almost immediately, lap times dropped into the low 1 minute 23 second bracket, and it was only a matter of time before the 22 second barrier was broken. Within minutes, no less than 4 cars had lapped in the '22s - which was very significant given that the 22 second barrier had only been broken (officially) the year before - and by only one car.

Such was the pace of the session that Ian Foster had pulled into the pits after doing a low '23, believing that his time was good enough for a top three starting position. When the news that he was only in sixth place was relayed to him by his crew, he immediately rejoined the track and slotted into fourth with a last-lap, last-ditch effort of 1:22.856.

Nick Cassidy, who had been first to break into the '22s, had held the front spot right up until the second to last lap when Shepherd pulled an amazing 1:22.515 lap out of nowhere, vaulting himself to the top of the timesheets. Matthew Stubbs was also very quick and had slotted into third when he clocked a 1:22.786 on lap four.

Matt Gibson, keen to make up for a disappointing weekend at round one, spent much of the session running by himself, but still managed 1:22.911 - becoming the fifth driver to break into the '22s.

The speed to behind the top five was not significantly slower, with Sabre driver Bramwell King picking up sixth spot on the grid with a time of 1:23.059, his highest championship grid position to date. Ryan Hellier was next on a '23.553, followed by David Ruthven, Bradley McDonald and Jamie Gaskin.

Shepherd's lap was the fastest officially recorded lap run at Manfeild and the Palmerston North resident was very pleased with the results;

"We needed a miracle after yesterday's (Friday) practice. The car was not where we needed it to be, so to get the job done today feels great. Of course, there are no points for qualifying, but I'm very confident for this afternoon's race."

Cassidy was also relieved after Friday testing had not gone so well;

"We tried some different settings with the handling of the car on Friday, but they didn't really work for us as we'd have liked. So for today's session we went back to some base settings from Taupo and they worked well. My car actually felt better early on in the session, but I was running by myself at that stage and didn't manage to pick up a tow from anyone. Once I moved into the traffic my times improved, so I'm happy to be on the front row. I can't wait for the race."

Matthew Stubbs had expected fast times from the outset and had hoped he'd be quick after a good practice session the day before;

"I thought qualifying would be quick as I'd done low '23s yesterday when running by myself. So to be in third is great. I think today's race is going to be very quick. I need to make sure I get a good start and stay with the front pack to be there at the end."

Race 1 Given the qualifying results, race 1 was expected to be a high speed battle of epic proportions - and it did not disappoint.

The battle at the front stayed furious throughout the first lap and into the second. The first 5 cars had now broken away a little from Hellier but the gap would reduce and expand depending on how hard the racing at the front was. As the field rounded the hairpin on lap two, Darren Henderson had a moment and ran wide, but rejoined immediately.

It was Stubbs who crossed the line in the lead at the end of lap two, but the pack was tightly compressed at the front and it was anyone's guess as to who would lead from corner to corner.

On lap 3 Gibson also had a moment at the hairpin and looked to have ruined his race chances. The young Wanganui driver could only watch as a gap to the front bunch opened up back to him as he struggled to regain the track. However, things were changing so rapidly at the front, that by the end of lap four, he'd been able to close the gap while the four leaders had been jostling for position.

At the start of lap 5 it was Shepherd who led across the line, followed by Stubbs. It didn't last long for Stubbs however as by the second corner he'd found himself shuffled back to fifth place. Classic Formula First racing.

Although times were not equal to those posted in qualifying, the race pace was still high with the front runners lapping in the mid-to-high '23s.

Ian Foster's race was ruined when a spark plug lead worked loose.

Foster's race looked to have been paced nicely, but the unlucky Aucklander suffered on lap six when a loose plug lead ruined his run, leaving him to limp home to a disappointing 11th place.

As the leaders crossed the line to start the last lap, it was Shepherd who held the upper hand. The three time Champion held the front spot all the way through the infield and through the hairpin. Stubbs' good run came to an end when he ran wide exiting the hairpin, leaving only Shepherd, Cassidy and Gibson to fight for the win. Cassidy appeared to be in the ideal position as he followed Shepherd into Higgins corner, but made a surprise move to the outside of Shepherd to move into the lead. In doing so, he appeared to hand Shepherd the all important second place for the run down into the final corner. Second is often the most sought-after position in the final lap as it is thought to be the ideal position from which to gain a good advantage through the use of slip-streaming.

Sure enough, Shepherd gained a good boost of speed down the back straight and streaked past Cassidy as they entered the final turn. Gibson also looked to be putting Cassidy under huge pressure and was unlucky not to be able to complete a move on the Scholarship winner before they entered the final turn.

Shepherd exited the final turn with a healthy one-length lead and that was all that was required to hold on for the win. By contrast, Cassidy's second placing was now under pressure from Gibson and as the two crossed the line, Cassidy just held on by a mere 2 hundredths of a second. Gibson's run to third had completed a good comeback by the Alvee driver.

Matthew Stubbs had managed to recover from his final lap mishap at the hairpin and brought his Sabre home in fourth place - another good recovery.

Bramwell King took his highest championship finish when he crossed the line in fifth. Next came Hellier, McDonald, Bryan McConkey, Jamie Gaskin and David Ruthven.

Shepherd's win had seemed to hail a true return to form for the former Champion - something Michael himself was quick to acknowledge;

"It feels great to get a win first up in the weekend. It's great to have confidence in the car's handling again - particularly after I didn't at Taupo. That was a tough weekend for us. In all honesty, my confidence has not been that high since we starting struggling last season, but with sorting the car out, I now feel as though I have recovered from that, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."

Cassidy had been thinking about points and had played a shrewd game;

"I'm happy to have placed second. The car wasn't quite were we'd have liked it to be, but second is great for the points right now."

Matt Gibson had driven a great race to recover from his early problem and was rewarded when he took the new lap record, beating Ian Foster's record (set last season) by a single thousandth of a second;

"I'm really happy with third. It's excellent to have the car sorted after some problems at round 1 (Taupo). It's great to be back at the front of the pack, I am really enjoying the close, clean racing and to take the lap record was an added bonus."

Races 2 and 3 take place tomorrow (Sunday) starting at 9AM.