SHEPHERD IN THE SPOTLIGHT @ NZGP

A mere week after putting on a show at the New Zealand Motor Cup @ Hampton Downs, the Vortex Racewear New Zealand Formula First circus headed to the undisputed home of Formula First racing, Manfeild Motorsport Park for round five.

As with the event previous, the Vortex Formula First championship was a support class to the Toyota Racing Series, with the season ending New Zealand Grand Prix the main draw for the weekend. This brought in the big crowds and the chance for the up and coming drivers to show their skills infront new fans.

Saturday’s qualifying saw many of the usual contenders up front, with Taylor Cockerton taking the P1 spot ahead of championship leader Rowan Shepherd. But the effort of the session went to Formula First rookie Brody McConkey. McConkey would time his drafting manoeuvres perfectly to set the third fastest time, mere tenths away from the P1 spot. A returning Ryan Hellier would take the fourth place, with newest edition to the winners list, David Ruthven, filling out the top five.

When came to the inaugural race of the weekend, there was drama before the red lights went out, as overcast skies left many wondering what to do car setup. As the cars rolled onto the track for the first time, a downpour began, leaving a majority of the field with a compromised situation of both dry tyres and setup.

Nevertheless, the five red lights went out and the race was on to the first corner. But by the end of the first lap, it was evident that the pilot from Auckland was on a charge to make a triumphant return, as Ryan Hellier would storm his way from P4 to lead the field.

From then on it was the five of Ryan Hellier, Taylor Cockerton, Rowan Shepherd, Oliver Gordon and Cory Holmes keeping the field at bay and displaying true talent in trying conditions on a damp circuit. With one lap to go, the battle was as tight as ever, as the final run out of the last corner would determine the race one winner. In the end, despite Shepherd’s best effort, it would be Ryan Hellier by just five hundredths of a second ahead of the 1NZ, with Taylor Cockerton taking the third spot ahead of Oliver Gordon and Cory Holmes.

Rookie sensation Brody McConkey showed maturity beyond his years, managing to hold on to the sixth spot and maintain the margin to his fellow competitors both ahead and behind him. Hampton Downs hero David Ruthven would be one of those chasing McConkey, only to just fall short - finishing in the P7 spot, ahead of the Sabre duo of James Webb and Chris Symon. Ian Foster would round out the top ten, crossing the line just four hundredths behind Symon.

Outside the top ten, it was Faine Kahia and Bramwell King duelling it out for the P11 spot, with Kahia eventually take the spot, with Dave Scammell, Craig Greenwood and Bob Dillow closing them down. Ron Carter and Jacob Smith would round out the finishers as the went over the line, but a post race penalty for Paul Butler would see him receive fifty seconds to his race time, sending Butler to the rear of the field.

Sunday’s first race saw a return to form for Rowan Shepherd, who leave the line first and never look back. The current 1NZ pulled a margin early on and maintained it to the end in a display in complete dominance at his home circuit, on the biggest stage.

The finishing positions from second to sixth though wouldn’t be as clear cut, as due to an error off the line, Auckland’s Taylor Cockerton could be seen cascading down the field, giving an opportunity to someone to fill the void. In the end, that person would be David Ruthven, holding off race one winner Ryan Hellier, along with Oliver Gordon and Cory Holmes by a blink of an eye to take the two spot and follow Shepherd across the line.

Cockerton would have to settle for the sixth place, finishing ahead of the Junior Dragster star Brody McConkey, Chris Symon and James Webb. Jacob Smith would round out the top ten, dodging an almost weekend ending collision with Ian Foster who experienced a suspension failure at the fastest part of the circuit. As well as that, crucially, the kid from Auckland would secure a banzai lap during the race, putting him on the three spot for the beginning of the final event of the weekend.

Paul Butler would put in a solid performance for the eleventh place, holding off Bramwell King and Tim Fox, who continues to develop the future of Scorpion Racecars chassis.

Dave Scammell would sit in close behind Fox across the line, with Faine Kahia, Ron Carter and Bob Dillow right on his gearbox. Liam Foster would complete his first ever Vortex Racewear Formula First event, after a DNS in race one. With consistently improving lap times after a few short test sessions, the silver beast will be one to watch in the coming rounds and years ahead.

One to DNS race two would be Craig Greenwood. After completing an engine rebuild prior to the round, the bad luck continued as another engine issue would cause the Taupo local to retire from the weekend.

The final race of the round would be one worth waiting for, as from when the red lights were extinguished, the action was relentless. Coming out of splash for the first time, an incident between Brody McConkey and James Webb would see the spearing onto the infield, missing the hairpin and only just slowing down enough to make the rejoin on the Hulme straight. The front bunch was lead by the 1NZ machine of Rowan Shepherd, with Jacob Smith relishing the opportunity to start at the front – sat directly behind the points leader.

With half the field in the leading pack for the early stages of the race, the racing grew in intensity, until in incident mid pack would see David Ruthven sent off track and spreading out the pack.

With a few laps to go and the leading duo of Smith and Shepherd pulling away, the final nail in the chasing bunch’s coffin was an error by Cockerton coming out of the hairpin which would see Cory Holmes with nowhere to go – but up, onto the rear cowling of the 11 Saftey Step machine. Amazingly, this would continue for a majority of the Hulme straight, eventually separating and slowing them down to outside the top group.

But from the moment that happened, Holmes was a different driver. The Waiuku driver would be on a tear to make his way back to the front bunch and with one to go, he found his way all the way back up to the fight for third.

With all the drama behind them, it would be Rowan Shepherd who would take the victory, just infront of a popular second place finisher, Jacob Smith. The battle for third went down to the wire, with Holmes amazingly taking the place, ahead of Oliver Gordon, Ryan Hellier, Taylor Cockerton and Chris Symon.

Eighth place would go to the Speedsport scholarship machine of James Webb, holding out Ian Foster on the line. Paul Butler would end a successful weekend in tenth overall, with David Ruthven fighting his way back to the eleven spot.

Faine Kahia had a new engine in the #55 machine for the final race but was not able to progress from his starting position and ended the weekend with a 12th place finish. Next over the line was Bramwell King, with Tim Fox continuing to make progress in the black machine. Brody McConkey was next over the line in 15th carrying a bit of damage after the opening lap incident. Bob Dillow managed to pull a great pass on Dave Scammell on the last lap to finish 16th ahead of Ron Carter in 18th and Liam Foster in 19th.

With three stand out races from the New Zealand Grand Prix weekend, the Vortex Racewear Formula First series was sure to make a few new fans. Even better news is the series returns to Manfeild Park for the next round on the 22/23rd of February.

So be sure to check the racing action live!

For more info, keep it locked on FormulaFirst.co.nz, or check out facebook.com/NZFormulaFirst #FormulaFirstNZ