Day 1 at Manfeild saw qualifying, and the opening race of the penultimate round of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship was completed, with strong performances at both ends of the field.
Qualifying:
Ajay Giddy – the youngest driver in this year’s championship – showed his speed in qualifying to secure pole position for Sunday’s feature race.
With most drivers setting their quickest times early in the session, Giddy needed just three laps to post a 1 minute 16.865 seconds, which remained the benchmark. The lap was enough to edge Arthur Broughan by nine one-hundredths of a second, while reigning champion Hugo Allan continued his solid Friday form with third. Allan was the only other driver to dip under the 1-minute 17-second mark.
Josh Bethune qualified fourth, with championship leader Chris White fifth, one spot ahead of his nearest title rival, Zach Blincoe.
Friday pace-setter Justin Allen couldn’t quite match that speed in qualifying and settled for seventh on the feature race grid. Cooper Barnes, top rookie Lee Zeltwanger and Harry Townshend completed the top ten.
Second-fastest laps determined the starting order for Saturday afternoon’s Race 1. Broughan’s 1 minute 17.081 earned him pole for that race, with Allan alongside on the front row.
White lined up third ahead of Bethune, while Allen’s second-best lap placed him fifth. Zeltwanger started sixth, followed by Giddy, Mac Templeton and Townshend. Blincoe faced work to do from tenth on the grid in his battle with White.
Race 1:
Broughan made a strong start from pole and held the inside line into turn one, but Allan carried speed around the outside and exited the first corner alongside him. Allan then moved to the inside at turn two and completed the pass to take the lead.
On the following lap, White closed in on the leading pair into turn one. While Allan remained composed, Broughan lost momentum, allowing both White and Josh Bethune through.
That gave Allan the opportunity to build a gap. By the end of lap three, he had extended his lead to just under a second over White, Bethune, Broughan and Justin Allen. Allen had made early progress but became boxed in behind Broughan, with Zeltwanger close behind.
White’s defence of second place became a focal point, particularly as he ran six positions ahead of championship rival Blincoe. Bethune, Broughan, Allen and Zeltwanger remained closely grouped behind him, while Allan gradually edged clear at the front over the remaining laps.
The midfield battle intensified on the penultimate lap when contact between Zeltwanger and Allen sent the NAPA Autoparts entry briefly off track. Allen sustained steering damage, which made the car difficult to control, and shortly afterwards, he and Giddy also made contact. All three were able to continue.
At the front, Allan was untroubled and took the win after 10 laps in what was his first race meeting at the Manawatu circuit.
“The car was super strong, and it was actually my first time racing here, so to win was great and a bit special,” Allan said.
“The boys kicked me into gear after a start to the season which wasn’t ideal, but the car is also performing better than it ever has.”
White finished second, two seconds behind, holding off Bethune, who completed the podium. Broughan was fourth, with Zeltwanger fifth.
Blincoe avoided the late incidents to finish sixth, while Allen managed to nurse his damaged car home in seventh. Giddy was eighth, Townshend ninth and Barnes tenth. Nathan Grammer impressed on debut with 11th place.
With the reverse top-seven grid in place for Sunday morning’s second race, Allen and Blincoe were set to share the front row after an eventful opening day at Manfeild.
2025-2026 Bridgestone GR86 Championship – Round 5 Manfeild – Race 1
- Hugo Allan – iMac Engineering
- Chris White – Neale Motorsport
- Josh Bethune – Right Karts by M2 Competition
- Arthur Broughan – Mackenzie Motorsport
- Lee Zeltwanger – CareVets Racing
- Zach Blincoe – Mackenzie Motorsport
- Justin Allen – Syndicate Motorsport
- Ajay Giddy – Mackenzie Motorsport
- Harry Townshend – Mackenzie Motorsport
- Cooper Barnes – Right Karts by M2 Competition
- Nathan Grammer – Mackenzie Motorsport
- Cameron Hill – Right Karts by M2 Competition
- Lucas McGill – James Marshall Motorsport
- Mac Templeton – Neale Motorsport
Header Image: Joel Hanks
