HELLIER STEALS THE HEADLINES @ RD8

Taupo Motorsport Park held host to the eighth round of the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First championship over the weekend of March 8-10; with the championship still in the balance after an epic season so far.

The qualifying session that determined the grid for race one was pretty much all sorted after just the second lap, as the top five cars set their lap times within this time.

Pole position would go to the Safety Step/Scorpion Racecars machine of Taylor Cockerton, with the 2NZ Ryan Hellier starting beside. Fellow championship contender Rowan Shepherd would take the third spot, as Oliver Gordon and thirteen year old Jacob Smith would fill out the top five.

The first race of the weekend saw a two car battle for the victory, as a less than ideal launch off the line from Rowan Shepherd left his title rival, Ryan Hellier, along with Taylor Cockerton to drive into the sunset.

This put Shepherd under pressure from the consistently improving Cory Holmes during the early laps, along with the chasing pack. After a few consistent laps, third place was practically all Shepherd’s, leaving Holmes to hold off the likes of Bramwell King, Dave Ruthven and Oliver Gordon.

Meanwhile up front, the duel for the victory was just as epic as every other battle for victory this season. With one to go, Cockerton could be seen attempting to make a break from Hellier, but the championship contender had seen it all before and even with a moderate oil leak, drafted past Cockerton to take the victory. Third went to the Inov8 MSR machine of Rowan Shepherd, with Holmes and Bramwell King concluding the top five.

The other two drivers in the battle for fourth would just miss out, as Dave Ruthven would claim the sixth spot and Oliver Gordon uncharacteristically ending up seventh. Jacob Smith would claim the eighth spot, ahead of Speedsport Scholarship winner, Aaron Marr. The top ten was…topped off by Craig Greenwood, who fought off Ian Foster and Dave Scammell for the spot, with Paul Butler not far behind.

Bob Dillow would set a blistering pace near the rear of the field, setting times never seen before in the tradezone machine. This consistent step up in pace left Ron Carter chasing Dillow across the line, with David Russell following behind.

Race two saw the race unfold a bit different, as the top six cars had a chance at victory early on, as the championship contenders had to deal with the youth brigade of Holmes, King, Ruthven and Gordon. But eventually the lead pack was thinned out to the three usual suspects – leaving it to a mega last lap from Ryan Hellier to take the victory, from Shepherd and Cockerton. Cory Holmes would double up on the fourth place spot, with Ruthven taking fifth. Gordon would be just behind, with Jacob Smith continuing the learning process in seventh, finishing ahead of Bramwell King and Dave Scammell. Aaron Marr would hold out Ian Foster for a top ten spot, with Ron Carter firing up the grid with a twelfth spot finish. Butler, Dillow and Russell would finish out the field for race two.

The final race of the weekend saw Hellier and Cockerton drive away from the rest of the field, presumably giving the championship advantage to the 2NZ. The two would duel to the finish, with Hellier taking win number three for the weekend. Shepherd would complete the weekend with a third spot and Holmes completed the set with another fourth placing. Thirteen year old Scorpion Racecars Development driver, Jacob Smith powered his way up to fifth, with Ruthven crossing the line sixth.

But unfortunately, the drama didn’t end on track. After the final race, the tech officers brought in cars for a quick inspection before a majority of the class headed home. This time round, there was an infringement which saw then championship leader Ryan Hellier stripped of points from the final race of the weekend, handing the win to Taylor Cockerton. But unfortunately, this also had a major impact on Hellier’s title chase, giving Rowan Shepherd a decent gap to second place going into the final round.

But with three races to go in the season, as many will know, anything can happen in the intriguing world of motorsport. Especially in the world of the Weldwell New Zealand Formula First championship.

Check back to FormulaFirst.co.nz for the latest.