HELLIER CLAWS BACK THE POINTS @ RD7 FFIRST.CO.NZ REPORT

Manfeild Park would once again host another round of the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First championship, this time, round seven. Going into the round with a 22 point advantage, Hastings’ Rowan Shepherd would have a target on his back as the one to beat on his somewhat hometown circuit.

After Friday’s testing, the Saturday morning qualifying session was an intense affair, as the top five machines would be separated by under one second. In the end, the Inov8/MSR machine of Rowan Shepherd would take the P1 spot, with Ryan Hellier two tenths behind. Feilding local Oliver Gordon continued to impress, completing a time that would see him start ahead of Taylor Cockerton. P5 would go to Waiuku’s Cory Holmes, with Dave Ruthven, Bramwell King and Aaron Marr just trailing behind. Ninth place starting spot would belong to Formula First president, Ian Foster, with the youngest driver in the field, Jacob Smith filling out the top ten.

Race 1

The first race of the weekend saw the battles from round six recommence, as a six car train would form and battle it out through the eight lap event. The three usual suspects would share the lead, with Cockerton asserting his dominance in the closing stages. But coming out of the last corner for the final time, the group would be scrambled by a late braking manoeuvre, causing Taylor Cockerton to run wide, losing momentum and laying the gauntlet for the Shepherd/Hellier showdown to the line. Hellier would take the victory by a mere seven thousandths of a second, ahead of Shepherd who would be followed home by Oliver Gordon and David Ruthven. The Safety Step/Scorpion Racecars machine of Cockerton would have to live with fifth overall, just six tenths from victory.

Bramwell King would run across the line in sixth, with Cory Holmes holding off a train that included Jacob Smith, Aaron Marr and Ian Foster to take seventh. The entire group was separated by two tenths on the line.

Paul Butler would lose out to Dom Kalasih by just under half a second at the line for the battle of the eleventh place spot, with Ron Carter Dominating the Feilding local Bob Dillow, who would cross the line ahead of David Russell.

Race 2

Sunday’s first race saw Taylor Cockerton show his intentions early on, taking the lead and practically never looking back as championship contender Ryan Hellier followed close behind. In tandem drafting skills only seen at Daytona, Hellier and Cockerton pulled away from the field, with Rowan Shepherd not having an answer for the two, due to having a duel with the premier Sabre machine in this years championship, Oliver Gordon’s 41. In the end, despite creating the disturbance in the air, Cockerton would hold on for the victory and fastest lap of the race, with Ryan Hellier crossing the line six thousandths of a second later.

Rowan Shepherd would hold onto third for crucial championship points, with Gordon in the privately run Sabre in fourth. Ian Foster would fire up the finishing table with a fifth spot, showing potential in the bright orange machine. Cory Holmes would keep consistent and run across the line in sixth, ahead of 13 year old Jacob Smith. Ruthven would have a tough second race, running as high as sixth before dropping to eighth after the eight lap race. Ninth and tenth would be claimed by Bramwell King and Aaron Marr, who remarkably were just eight tenths behind Holmes in the end.

Paul Butler would take the eleventh spot this time around, ahead of Kalasih. Ron Carter would be the last finisher as David Russell would DNF and Bob Dillow would not make the grid with an electrical drama heading out of pitlane.

Race 3 The final race of the weekend saw early drama as a racing incident between Cockerton and Hellier would see the race two winner off into the turn one sand trap. This separated the field somewhat and gave the two championship contenders an advantage they would not give up, pulling away from the pack early on. In what looked to be a two horse race, it was Scorpion Racecars Programme of Excellence driver Jacob Smith who would make the headlines, as while the two leaders tried their best not to lead the race, Smith would catch them in a matter of laps, actually leading the race on the penultimate lap.

It wasn’t to be for the 13 year old Aucklander, as Hellier and Shepherd would show their final lap experience to pass and hold off the rookie. The Inov8/Michael Shepherd Racing 3NZ of Rowan Shepherd would take the final victory of the weekend, the third different victor of the round. Hellier would be sixth thousandths too late over the line, taking second ahead of Smith who would take his personal best placing.

Behind the top three, final lap drama of another kind ensued, as a wild entry into the final corner would see Ian Foster and Cory Holmes get sent into the sand trap with a large amount of damage. This scattered the rest of the field, with Aaron Marr the ultimate opportunist, gunning it for the line and fourth position. Oliver Gordon and David Ruthven would take the fifth and sixth spots, with Paul Butler gaining his PB of the weekend, in seventh.

After his DNS in the earlier race, Feilding’s Bob Dillow unleashed the fury during the final race of the weekend, firing past Ron Carter on the front straight to take eighth place overall by a mere seven thousandths of a second. David Russell would cross in tenth, with Taylor Cockerton managing to claim the fastest lap by himself while running in the eleventh position.

Fifteen points. That’s all that separates the top two contenders for the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First title. The penultimate round of the championship sees the teams head to Taupo Motorsport Park. With Shepherd’s victorious run last time there, will Hellier and co. have an answer for the Inov8/MSR machine?

Head to Ricoh Taupo Motorsport Park March 9-10 to find out.

Manfeild Park would once again host another round of the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First championship, this time, round seven. Going into the round with a 22 point advantage, Hastings’ Rowan Shepherd would have a target on his back as the one to beat on his somewhat hometown circuit.

After Friday’s testing, the Saturday morning qualifying session was an intense affair, as the top five machines would be separated by under one second. In the end, the Inov8/MSR machine of Rowan Shepherd would take the P1 spot, with Ryan Hellier two tenths behind. Feilding local Oliver Gordon continued to impress, completing a time that would see him start ahead of Taylor Cockerton. P5 would go to Waiuku’s Cory Holmes, with Dave Ruthven, Bramwell King and Aaron Marr just trailing behind. Ninth place starting spot would belong to Formula First president, Ian Foster, with the youngest driver in the field, Jacob Smith filling out the top ten.

Race 1

The first race of the weekend saw the battles from round six recommence, as a six car train would form and battle it out through the eight lap event. The three usual suspects would share the lead, with Cockerton asserting his dominance in the closing stages. But coming out of the last corner for the final time, the group would be scrambled by a late braking manoeuvre, causing Taylor Cockerton to run wide, losing momentum and laying the gauntlet for the Shepherd/Hellier showdown to the line. Hellier would take the victory by a mere seven thousandths of a second, ahead of Shepherd who would be followed home by Oliver Gordon and David Ruthven. The Safety Step/Scorpion Racecars machine of Cockerton would have to live with fifth overall, just six tenths from victory.

Bramwell King would run across the line in sixth, with Cory Holmes holding off a train that included Jacob Smith, Aaron Marr and Ian Foster to take seventh. The entire group was separated by two tenths on the line.

Paul Butler would lose out to Dom Kalasih by just under half a second at the line for the battle of the eleventh place spot, with Ron Carter Dominating the Feilding local Bob Dillow, who would cross the line ahead of David Russell.

Race 2

Sunday’s first race saw Taylor Cockerton show his intentions early on, taking the lead and practically never looking back as championship contender Ryan Hellier followed close behind. In tandem drafting skills only seen at Daytona, Hellier and Cockerton pulled away from the field, with Rowan Shepherd not having an answer for the two, due to having a duel with the premier Sabre machine in this years championship, Oliver Gordon’s 41. In the end, despite creating the disturbance in the air, Cockerton would hold on for the victory and fastest lap of the race, with Ryan Hellier crossing the line six thousandths of a second later.

Rowan Shepherd would hold onto third for crucial championship points, with Gordon in the privately run Sabre in fourth. Ian Foster would fire up the finishing table with a fifth spot, showing potential in the bright orange machine. Cory Holmes would keep consistent and run across the line in sixth, ahead of 13 year old Jacob Smith. Ruthven would have a tough second race, running as high as sixth before dropping to eighth after the eight lap race. Ninth and tenth would be claimed by Bramwell King and Aaron Marr, who remarkably were just eight tenths behind Holmes in the end.

Paul Butler would take the eleventh spot this time around, ahead of Kalasih. Ron Carter would be the last finisher as David Russell would DNF and Bob Dillow would not make the grid with an electrical drama heading out of pitlane.

Race 3 The final race of the weekend saw early drama as a racing incident between Cockerton and Hellier would see the race two winner off into the turn one sand trap. This separated the field somewhat and gave the two championship contenders an advantage they would not give up, pulling away from the pack early on. In what looked to be a two horse race, it was Scorpion Racecars Programme of Excellence driver Jacob Smith who would make the headlines, as while the two leaders tried their best not to lead the race, Smith would catch them in a matter of laps, actually leading the race on the penultimate lap.

It wasn’t to be for the 13 year old Aucklander, as Hellier and Shepherd would show their final lap experience to pass and hold off the rookie. The Inov8/Michael Shepherd Racing 3NZ of Rowan Shepherd would take the final victory of the weekend, the third different victor of the round. Hellier would be sixth thousandths too late over the line, taking second ahead of Smith who would take his personal best placing.

Behind the top three, final lap drama of another kind ensued, as a wild entry into the final corner would see Ian Foster and Cory Holmes get sent into the sand trap with a large amount of damage. This scattered the rest of the field, with Aaron Marr the ultimate opportunist, gunning it for the line and fourth position. Oliver Gordon and David Ruthven would take the fifth and sixth spots, with Paul Butler gaining his PB of the weekend, in seventh.

After his DNS in the earlier race, Feilding’s Bob Dillow unleashed the fury during the final race of the weekend, firing past Ron Carter on the front straight to take eighth place overall by a mere seven thousandths of a second. David Russell would cross in tenth, with Taylor Cockerton managing to claim the fastest lap by himself while running in the eleventh position.

Fifteen points. That’s all that separates the top two contenders for the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First title. The penultimate round of the championship sees the teams head to Taupo Motorsport Park. With Shepherd’s victorious run last time there, will Hellier and co. have an answer for the Inov8/MSR machine?

Head to Ricoh Taupo Motorsport Park March 9-10 to find out.