KYLE GEORGE CARRIES ON FORM TO TAKE OUT ROUND 1 OF THE WELDWELL NZFF CHAMPIONSHIP

This past weekend saw the return of the Weldwell NZ Formula First championship to the circuits of the North Island of New Zealand, with many anticipating the wheel-to-wheel action that this class has been renowned for.

Race 1 saw the return of that aforementioned close action, as the reigning champ Michael Shepherd, along with Ryan Hellier and Kyle George fought it out through the eight lap event.

It came down to the final corner of the final lap, as it often does at the historic Manfeild Park. The three-wide battle would come to an end, as George would be sent wide onto the sand-trap and into third, leaving Shepherd in the Go Rentals/Inov8 challenge to take the victory over Hellier - after a side-by-side duel to the line.

Just behind them were the duo of Dave Ruthven, who claimed a PB of fourth place overall, and the legend that is Bryan McConkey in fifth place.

Race two saw much of the same, only this time it was a two horse race between Shepherd and Kyle George. This time around it was George claiming his inaugural Weldwell NZ Formula First championship win in the Spectrum Architectural metals challenge, by making an impressive move on the last corner.

Matt Higham took the third place overall, continuing his form from the Winter Series, with Ryan Hellier 0.082 behind. Speedsport scholarship winner Hayden Pederson would take fifth overall.

The final race of the round started with a four car race for the win, with Higham holding onto the back of the trio of Hellier, Shepherd and George. But with a few laps to go, the three cars started to create a gap between themselves and Higham, thus leaving him to run in fourth place by himself.

Entering the final lap it was anyone’s race, until the final corner - where Kyle George took control and lead Shepherd and Hellier to the line, winning by 0.155.

The two wins and a third place gave Kyle George the overall win, along with the points lead after the first round, with Shepherd only one point behind.

With only a few weeks until the round 2 Labour Weekend event at Taupo Motorsport Park, the championship is already picking up where it left off last season.

Be sure to check out the action live, or keep looking back to FormulaFirst.co.nz for updates.