The latest round of the New Zealand V8 Utes Championship at Hampton Downs featured three different victors, with the final of those Alex Fougere winning the round.
Relative newcomer Kyan Davie stormed to the pole in Saturday morning’s qualifying and was the only driver to go under the 1:17 barrier. Championship leader Brad Kroef was second fastest, ahead of Alex Fougere and Greg Kroef.
Manfeild winner Phill Ross encountered trouble before the race even began, losing throttle response on the formation lap as Davie cleared off.
Brad Kroef lost his clutch on Lap 2, and his Ford FG was clipped first by his father, Greg Kroef, and then by Daniel Ludlam.
Up front, Davie continued to build on his lead from Fougere, while Greg Kroef had moved to third, ahead of Ludlam who had worked past Simon Ussher.
Davie cruised to a comfortable 3.2-second win- his first in a tin top following previous victories in three different open wheel classes. Fougere was second, four seconds ahead of Greg Kroef, who completed the podium.
Paul Fougere and Blair Gribble-Browning crossed the line dead even for seventh, 18.635 seconds off the leader. The position went to the former, who set the fastest final lap.
Teams worked hard to repair the damage ahead of Sunday’s reverse grid opener, and Heron Racing Team were rewarded for their persistence as Brad Kroef stormed from 11th on the grid to victory.
Jeremy Hunt and Bruce McRae had earlier led the field of V8 Utes to green, but an early yellow flag was required as a Super V8 competitor ran off up ahead.
Davie connected with Ussher off the restart, the latter spinning and the former receiving steering damage.
The rain began on Lap 5 as both Kroefs worked forward, and Brad Kroef went on to cross the line a narrow 0.028 seconds ahead of Daniel Ludlam, while Greg Kroef worked from eighth to third.
That left three drivers tied on 160 points for the round, setting up a winner-take-all finale.
Alex Fougere and Greg Kroef started off the front row, but another early Safety Car was required for an incident in the Super V8 class.
Ross was the biggest early mover, having worked to third from twelfth by Lap 3 and was followed by Ludlam and Brad Kroef.
Davie locked up mid-race and nudged Ludlam into a spin, who the trailing Ussher then collected.
Up front, Alex Fougere kept a cool head and held off a persistent challenge from Greg Kroef to take the chequered flag and round honours. Brad Kroef completed the podium from Ross, Davie and Stuart Monteith, while Hunt’s seventh was his best result to date.
Peter Ward’s TA2 victory saw two Ward Demolition cars on the podium for the race, leading to Fougere saying, “Peter Ward, you’re a legend for providing us with your ute.”
The final round of the New Zealand V8 Ute Championship is in May.
Header Image: Matt Smith
