It was a weekend of challenges, but strong results for some of our Kiwi drivers around the globe.
Images: Supplied and Geoff Ridder
Lawson fifth at Sugo
Kiwi F1 hopeful, Liam Lawson, didn’t really put a foot wrong at the Sugo round of Japan’s Super Formula, but nevertheless he, nor anyone in the field could catch TOM’S driver Ritomo Miyata who stormed away to a second victory in the season and seizing Lawson’s championship in the process.
Lawson qualified sixth, but capitalised quickly on poor starts from Mugen Racing’s Tomoki Nojiri and Impul’s Ryo Hirakawa, who bogged off the line allowing Lawson and Sho Tsuboi to battle for fourth into the first corner.
Lawson drove a clean race, but lacked the pace needed to move up the field. To give him the best chance of a late run, Lawson was left out late in the race and was the last of the front pack to pit on lap 42. He lost a number of positions and rejoined in eighth, but with a grip advantage over his rivals. In the final stages of the races, Lawson showed skill and made up ground, including a well-executed last lap pass on Kamui Kobayashi to complete the race in hard-fought, but a well-earned P5
Three winners from three races in Darwin
The Supercars Gen 3 vehicle project is delivering the intended outcomes of closer racing with more potential race winners. Of the three races at the Darwin round there were three different drivers atop the podium.
Veteran racer, Mark Winterbottom claimed a long overdue win for him and his Dewalt Racing team in the first race, Red Bull Ampol Racing and Brock Feeney locked in victory on race 2 and Jack Le Brocq drove to a maiden Matt Stone Racing Supercars victory, becoming the seventh different winner in 2023.
Shane van Gisbergen hasn’t had the dominating pace he’s had in past seasons, and he’s been open about his frustration at times with the Gen 3 car. Race one SVG finished sixth, but with some adjustments followed teammate Brock Feeney home in P2 on the second race and also drove to fourth the final race.
Not the consistency the Kiwi would’ve liked, but he simply can’t be counted out as a contender for the Championship. Townsville is next on the calendar and boasts 150 points for a win. SVG, who is 184 points of the Championship Leader, Brodie Kostecki, has won there 10 times in the past. Van Gisbergen has his work cut out for him, but will leave everything on the track at Townsville.
“I need to reflect and learn more from the car because it feels like I can be better. In the races, it doesn’t feel like we’re competitive but in reality, we’re fast, so I don’t really understand why that is because it’s a bit of a battle. The racing was particularly tough this weekend, especially when you get stuck behind others because the cars get so hot. The team has done an awesome job to stick behind me and keep trying stuff with the car. We had a lot of problems on Friday and basically lost all our practice sessions, but to come out with second on points for the weekend and for Broc to finish first on points for the event is awesome. I haven’t been much help to that side of the garage, so it’s been awesome to get a good team result because we’ve been struggling so much. I’m looking forward to Townsville because at least we can have some strategy and try some different things and hopefully the racing is good for everyone to watch.” Said van Gisbergen.
Hunt Crashes out of Rally South Canterbury
The Rally of South Canterbury started brilliantly for Skoda New Zealand Rally Team driver, Ben Hunt. Hunt and co-driver, Tony Rawstorne were flying and set fastest stage time in 5 of the first 7 stages. But Hunt was being pushed hard by Rana Horan, also in a Skoda Fabia R5, and young gun, Ari Pettigrew.
But on the penultimate stage, Hunt came unstuck and slid off the road ending his rally. Rana Horan would go on to claim the victory.
Strong results for Kiwis at Road America
Kiwis have performed well at Road America in the Indycars NXT feeder class and top tier Indycars category.
Hunter McElrea started 13th on the grid, but battled well in the opening stages of the race, moving to fifth position quickly and into fourth just after the half way point.
McElrea used aerodynamics to his advantage and slipstreamed behind the leading cars of Nolan Siegel, Reece Gold and Louis Foster. McElrea saw an opportunity to seize third in the final run to the flag and executed a late pass on Foster for a perfectly executed spot on the podium.
Then it was Kiwis, Scott Dixon, Scott McLaughlin and Marcus Armstrong's turn to battle in the main Indycars race.
Dixon would lead the Kiwis home just shy of a Podium in fourth, McLaughlin in P8 and despite strong qualifying, Armstrong couldn’t find speed in the race and ran P24.
Dixon and the Chip Gamassi team were looking poised to leapfrog the front pack in the later stages, opting for hard compound tyres that wouldn’t degrade as quickly as the runners on soft tyres ahead.
But the ambiant track temperature had seen it ‘rubber up’ significantly and the surface was grippy enough for those on softs to defend Dixon’s hopeful attack.
Dixon and Armstrong’s teammate Alex Palou claimed the victory. The 250th Indycar race win for Chip Ganassi Racing.
