SHEPHERD TWO FROM THREE @ RD6 FFIRST.CO.NZ REPORT

For the third weekend in a row, the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First championship would be on the road with the premier open wheel class in the country, the Toyota Racing Series. This time, the field headed to the historic ManfeildPark as a curtain raiser to the New Zealand Grand Prix.

With a differing weekend format, which saw qualifying held on Saturday and three races Sunday, the pressure to make sure you’re damage free for the short turn around would be immense.

Before the triple stack of Formula First racing action, qualifying had to be held. Championship co-leader, Ryan Hellier, had the field at the palm of his hands during the twenty minute session. Ninety percent of the field were packed into one hundred fifty meters of circuit, causing a headache for top contenders wanting quick times, but it didn’t affect the Aucklanddriver.

Hellier would set a time just under half a second infront of his closest competitor, Taylor Cockerton. Cockerton managed to pull out the quick time on the final lap, eclipsing Rowan Shepherd who would settle for third. Bramwell King would continue to reawaken the form that saw him claim a third place finish at only twelve years old a little while back, with fourth quickest time.

Fifth to ninth would be covered by a mere three tenths of a second, showing the competitiveness of this championship, especially at the fabled Manfeild Park circuit. The positions were filled out by David Ruthven in fifth, Aaron Marr and Oliver Gordon in six/seven, with Tim Fox and Cory Holmes finishing the top nine. Feilding’s David Scammell would show hometown pace, claiming tenth ahead of a returning Kyle George.

Twelve to nineteen would see Paul Butler ahead of Ron Carter. Carter, who had been duelling throughout the season with Palmerston North local, Bob Dillow, pulled out a mega lap to clear him by over two seconds. Dom Kalasih and Jacob Smith, running the Michael Scott machine, would fill the gap between the two rivals. A returning legend to the class, Wanganui’s Graeme Lett, would continue to try and find his old pace in qualifying, setting a time just behind Dillow. After what was judged a pitlane infringement, Ian Foster would be sent to the rear of the field for race one, meaning David Russell would have competition off the line during the inaugural race of the weekend.

Race one

The morning of the New Zealand Grand Prix brought the crowds into Manfeild Park and also meant the start of race one of three for the Weldwell NZ Formula First class.

From the moment the five red lights went out, the first race of the weekend was action packed. In a cloud of dust going into the first corner, Sabre Motorsport’s Tim Fox could be seen sittin in the sand trap, causing a localised yellow. But this didn’t hinder the rest of the field, which were once again running within mere inches of each other through the infield. Running onto the back straight though, packs began to form, with the top four cars making a break from the trailing group of King, Marr, Holmes and Ruthven.

Though the majority of the field had intense racing throughout, it was the top four of Gordon, Hellier, Cockerton and Rowan Shepherd who would steal the show during the inaugural Formula First race of the weekend.

In what could be seen as a throwback to the golden era of Formula First racing, the top four drivers would continue to run within millimetres throughout the eight lap event, often going four wide onto the front straight. But on the final lap, it was championship co-leader, Rowan Shepherd would hold out a charging Oliver Gordon by just eight one hundredths of a second. Third across the line, seven hundredths later, was Ryan Hellier with Taylor Cockerton only one and a half tenths behind him. This meant that the top four was only separated at the line by three tenths of a second. Something some of the other classes could only dream about.

Just over a second behind was Bramwell King, followed by Sabre Motorsport Scholarship winner Aaron Marr. Waiuku’s Cory Holmes would make a late charge past David Ruthven for seventh, with Dave Scammell in the notorious Black Sunshine would fire into the top ten with a blistering final lap, ahead of Ian Foster and thirteen year old Jacob Smith.

Dom Kalasih would be next across the line, ahead of Paul Butler and Kyle George. Fifteenth would go to Ron Carter, who would continue his streak of domination over hometown hero, Bob Dillow. Dillow would however claim a spot on the returning legend of the class, Graeme Lett. Russell would then be next to finish, with Tim Fox unfortunately finishing a lap down after the turn one incident.

Race two

Just two hours later, the second race of the weekend began and it was now runner up in the title chase, Ryan Hellier who took the initiative early. In what turned out to be a near perfect replay of race one, despite the best efforts of Bramwell King and co.

So after seven intense, wheel to wheel laps, it was once again down to whom would be out front down to the line. For the second time of the weekend the championship leader, in the Inov8/MSR machine, Rowan Shepherd would be first across the line, despite Cockerton’s best efforts. First and second would be separated by a sheer three hundredths of a second, the closest of the weekend. Third would once again go to Ryan Hellier, with Oliver Gordon just two tenths behind. Bramwell King would take fifth after duelling with a resurgent Tim Fox.

Aaron Marr would hold off a charging Jacob Smith, while Cory Holmes would claim ninth ahead of Ian Foster and David Ruthven. Kyle George would be next to pass the chequered flag, the first in his group which included Kalasih and Scammell. Paul Butler would manage to stay ahead of Ron Carter and Bob Dillow for fifteenth, with Graeme Lett and David Russell finishing the field, respectively.

Race three

The final race of the weekend would turn out to be one of the best of the year, as an eleven car train would fight for the victory throughout the eight lap event. Consistent position changes, clean racing, mature driving where all keys to this – and all infront of the major players within New Zealand motorsport.

With on to go though, the #3 MetalMan/Elf oils machine of Ryan Hellier made a break for it and amazingly, it would work out. His margin of escape was only just enough, as Rowan Shepherd be close to the gearbox of Hellier crossing the line. The 11 Safety Step/ScorpionRacecars machine of Taylor Cockerton would sit in third, while the elite Sabre chassis of the year so far, Oliver Gordon would continue his great form in fourth.

The battle between Aaron Marr and Bramwell King would be a 2-1 score, as the Sabre Motorsport driver would claim fifth place over King, with Tim Fox in seventh. Scorpion Racecars’ scholarship winner, Thirteen year old Jacob Smith would continue to impress, setting the fastest lap time during race three on his way to eighth overall. In his first legitimate ‘pack racing’ experience, the Aucklander held his own. The Ardex/BNT/All Subaru Partworld machine of Cory Holmes would battle his way to ninth, holding off David Ruthven who in tern managed to stay infront of Formula First president, Ian Foster.

Three tenths would be the margin between Dave Scammell and Dom Kalasih, two legends for the class, with another former Formula First champion Paul Butler just trailing behind. The final race of the day also brought the best out of Bob Dillow. Dillow would finally be near enough to his rival Ron Carter to go toe-to-toe with the Papamoa local and the countdown to the showdown was over.

After some gripping race action, it was the blue and white beast of Ron Carter who would one again prevail, taking the score out to six from six over the last two rounds.

Graeme Lett and David Russell would complete the field, as overheating dramas with the machine of former 3NZ Kyle George would see him DNF.

With two weeks to go until the championship returns to the historic Manfeild circuit, the field has a new target to look out for, new championship points leader Rowan Shepherd. With only 22 points separating the two top contenders, round seven should be another epic within the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First class.

Come check out the action live, February 23rd/24th 2013.