Reigning champion Hugo Allan won the first race of the fourth round of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship today at Highlands, after a thrilling first lap duel secured him the lead, and a late accident saw the race finish under the Safety Car.
As the lights went out, both made good starts, but neither wanted to give way as they surged into the Bus Stop chicane, a spot where both had been finding an advantage in qualifying with some aggressive kerb-hopping.
In an almost impossible move, the two went side-by-side through the entire chicane and emerged – still two abreast – from the exit. Allan, though, had the inside into the big, fast carousel and just managed to take the lead. It would prove to be the decisive move of the race.
Behind the leaders, Blincoe was on the move on the first lap as he leapt up to fifth, but all eyes were on the front as Broughan piled the pressure on the reigning champion. Championship leader Chris White was tucked in behind those two in third, while Justin Allen was looking very pacey in fourth – another to have made a brilliant start.
Another great battle was developing further back in the pack between Simon Hunter, Harry Townshend, Mac Templeton and series debutant Nieko Scoles, who was putting his club and endurance-racing expertise to very good use as he tried to move up from 13th.
Further up the field, a key moment of the race occurred when Ajay Giddy brushed the wall on lap 4, battling with Lee Zeltwanger. That left his car drivable, but with visibly awful handling, and young Ajay’s rivals began to queue up behind him as he struggled for speed.
Templeton and Hunter were first in line, and it was a few corners before Templeton and then Hunter found a way through for ninth and tenth, respectively. With Giddy’s car squirming around the course, Townshend was next up.
Lap eight, and Ajay and Harry made contact as the popular Hawke’s Bay series regular tried to pass. Giddy spun around, and the unfortunate Lucas McGill made heavy contact with Ajay’s car and put them out on the spot – both cars suffering significant damage, but both drivers were out relatively quickly and thankfully unharmed.
That brought out the Safety Car, and with only a couple of laps remaining, that was the end of the race. Allan took the victory from Broughan, who had closed up before the crash but had run out of time with the Safety Car.
Remarkably, it was Allan’s first race win so far in a closely fought championship, and Hugo was glad to chalk a win on the board.
“We got a super even start, and I just had to hold it on the inside,” said Hugo afterwards.
“I think my start was slightly better, but Arthur got the advantage of the side draft. It’s not how I really wanted to win my first race of the season, under the Safety Car, but I’ll take it.”
White maintained his championship advantage with third while Allen produced another strong result in fourth as he continued to fight his way back into the championship.
Blincoe held on for fifth, ahead of Cooper Barnes and top rookie Lee Zeltwanger, who had a solid race moving through from 12th on the grid. Josh Bethune was eighth and will start the reverse top eight race two on Sunday morning from pole position. Templeton and Hunter rounded out the top ten.
Header Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand
