Speed and consistency for Kaleb Ngatoa have seen him streak ahead to a 52 point lead after the second round of the Hi-Q Components NZ Formula First Championship. A 50% win and 100% podium rate this season for Ngatoa has established him as the championship favourite early on in the season.
Ngatoa picked up where he left off at Manfeild, taking pole position in qualifying to start alongside Chris Symon. Last seasons rookie of the year Reece Hendl-Cox was fast enough for third while second in the points, Callum Crawley started from fourth. The first of our rookie drivers was Blake Evans who put him a stellar performance to secure a fifth-place start on his first racing event at this technical track.
It was an action-packed opening race of the weekend, with over half the field venturing off track or suffering a mechanical issue sometime during the eight laps.
Halfway in Callum Crawley, Conrad Clark and Taylor Hurst played follow the leader at turn ten as the trio went well off the track and into the gravel at the fast sweeper. The following lap Chris Symon, hot on the heels of race leader Ngatoa, went for a huge dive at the chase but ended up spinning out of the race, unable to get going again.
Lap six saw Hendl-Cox suffer a gearbox failure and finish his race off the road at turn two along with Travis Day who lost power and ended up in the same spot. Then young Blake Evans was fell victim to a mechanical issue, slowing down after his front beam came loose and therefore finishing 13th after running second the lap prior.
Meanwhile, Craig Greenwood and Paul Butler both slowed down with engine issues, putting them 15th and 16th respectively. Through all the carnage, the drive of the weekend was produced by Liam Foster, who started from last after missing qualifying due to an exam and made his way up to fourth position.
The carnage began at the first turn in race five as Evans and Hurst made contact, resulting in Hurst spinning. Once Hurst started rolling forward again Billy Frazer and Nathan Sudiono collected him and prompted the race to be suspended under red flags.
The race then went to a full restart and it was a similar story as Bob Dillow spun out of turn one and then got collected by Sudiono. Dillow suffered a bent rear axle while Sudiono sustained terminal rear suspension damage, ruling them both out of the remainder of the race.
While all that was going on SpeedSport Scholarship driver Clark slowed to a halt at turn two with what turned out to be a fuel pump failure and leaving the lead rookie driver stranded on the side of the track.
Out in front Hendl-Cox had pulled a gap over the pack of Ngatoa, Foster, Symon, Crawley and Evans. Foster, running in second at the time, spun off the road at turn one on lap five after hitting a puddle. He would not be the only one to be caught out as a lap later Crawley ran his ARB 4×4 Accessories machine right off the track.
Hendl-Cox would hold on to score his first NZ Formula First race win, Ngatoa finished second while Symon scored his first podium of the season after his troublesome run.
There was more drama from the start of race six as Cameron Dance, Billy Frazer and Dave Scammell came together, with Dance ending up spinning at the first turn.
Ngatoa led the pack for the first half of the lap, with Symon and Hendl-Cox behind him. The pack quickly separated as Foster ran well off at turn one while Ngatoa slipped into a distant second behind Symon.
Dillow, who was able to make the race after an impressive repair effort aided by fellow competitors was caught up in another incident on lap four, this time with Shaun Logan as the pair made contact resulting in Dillow losing his nose cone.
Foster, charging back through the field made a very close move on Clark at the chase but was able to make it stick. His next victim was the fourth-placed Crawley. Now fourth and fast charging, Foster made a last lap move to steal a podium from birthday boy Hendl-Cox.
Meanwhile Ngatoa had made ground on Symon was tried a similar move to Foster at the chase on the final lap but was unable to get by the school teacher and had to settle for second, but still end up with the round win and an extended championship lead.
Symon’s win moves him up to seventh in the championship, a mammoth 197 points from the lead. Conrad Clark’s DNF has shrunk his gap in the rookie of the year championship, with just 21 points between him and Blake Evans.
The Hi-Q Components NZ Formula First Championship returns to Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park on December 1-3 for part two of our “Taupo Triple”. The event is also the opening round of the SpeedWorks Events Premier Motorsport championship and tickets are available online or at the gate.