VINCENT WINS THE BATTLE, SHEPHERD WINS THE WAR…

It all came down to this, after seven epic rounds of Weldwell New Zealand Formula First racing which included show stealing races to three-way ties for round wins, the championship was to be decided at the grand final at Taupo Motorsport Park over the Easter weekend.

Friday testing is usually a relaxed affair, with many fine-tuning their machines in preparation for the weekend – but for the point’s leader Michael Shepherd, disaster hit.

Running in one of the later sessions, the #34 Go Rentals/Inov8 machine went past the pit wall sounding sick, which in the end led to an engine change for qualifying the next day.

Saturday’s qualifying session showed how tough it would be to wrench the title from the champion-elect, as Shepherd would show his intentions by setting the fastest time, with Andrew Vincent in second, and Aaron Hodgson sitting in third.

But that quick time came at a cost, as once again engine issues would force Shepherd to hunt for another engine to put in the back of his machine, just in time for the first race of the day…

Race 1

The race began without any major issue, as the top bunch began working a small gap over the initial lap. But after that first lap, it was the Dodson’s Autospares/Squawking Magpie Wines machine of Andrew Vincent and the Speedsport scholarship winner Aaron Hodgson who managed to pull away from the pack, and continue their epic battle that has been one of the many highlights of the season.

This left Shepherd to contend with a consistent front runner in Ryan Hellier for the third place overall, while trying to secure vital points going into the final day of the round.

In the end, it was the two young guns who powered their way to a massive lead, and on the last lap it looked as if Hodgson would take the win. But exiting the sweeper, and going onto the back straight, Andrew Vincent managed to draft up to, and right past the Speedsport machine, and carry on to achieve a large margin before the end of one of the longest straights in New Zealand.

Vincent carried his momentum to the line, despite a slight off, to take the victory just infront of Hodgson. Hellier and Shepherd would cross the line in third and fourth, over seven seconds behind the leaders. Later on though, Shepherd would be penalized one second – enough to drop him back to sixth overall.

Race 2

Sunday brought on two races, but it also meant another engine for Michael Shepherd, as the previous night was spent installing the third motor in three days.

Once race two began, it was the three championship front runners who would fight it out initially, as they pulled a small margin on the field. Over the duration of the race, the lead would change multiple times, as the jostle for the optimum position on the last lap went on.

With one lap to go, the yellow Dodson’s Autospares/Squawking Magpie Wines machine looked to have made a break, creating a gap between him and his two rivals. But going onto the back straight for the last time, it proved to be not enough, as the Go Rentals/Inov8 Challenge drafted past Vincent, and completed the move into the braking zone to take the win, and all but seal the championship.

Aaron Hodgson would take the third position, with the Arizona kid, David Ruthven gaining his personal best finish in fourth overall.

Race 3

With Michael Shepherd only needing to finish the final race of the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First season to secure the title for the 2009/10 season, the lights went out – and the race began.

The race was a classic Formula First affair, as the top four of Shepherd, Hodgson, Vincent and Barry Holden battled it out over the six lap event.

When it came down to the last lap, it was Hodgson this time who led onto the back straight, and he paid the price, as Vincent would draft him down the straight – and complete the pass through the chicane to take the victory and round win over Hodgson by just under half a second.

But the driver in fourth place overall was the main winner on the day, as Michael Shepherd in the Go Rentals/Inov8 Challenge became the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First champion.

So after eight grueling rounds of racing – twenty four epic races, congratulations must go to Michael Shepherd for winning this year’s Weldwell New Zealand Formula First title.