Rick Armstrong claimed Open Class honours for Round 3 of the Summerset GT New Zealand Championship at Ruapuna, while Brock Gilchrist was the best amongst the GT4 contingent.
Steve Brooks finished second in Open Class, with Paul Southam in third, both in Porsche 992s.
In GT4, the podium places were filled by runner-up Steve Scoles in a Ginetta and the pairing of Tony Quinn and Kynan Yu in a Porsche.
Having won Saturday’s 1-Hour race, Armstrong was immediately back on the pace in the opening 30-minute run on Sunday, taking the lead off pole and followed through by the Mercedes-AMG GT2 of Joel Giddy, who made ground through turn one and slotted into second.
A tight battle formed behind, with Paul Southam, Steve Brooks, Regan Scoullar, Sam Fillmore, Paul Pedersen and Luke Manson all dicing for the minor places.
In GT4, Gilchrist had built a good lead over the other GT4 runners.
Armstrong and Giddy began trading fastest lap times at the front in a tight battle for the lead. There was drama for Manson, with a spin and re-join at Turn 4, sending him down the order.
Raana Horan was among the first to make his compulsory pitstop when the window opened 10 minutes in and would take the race’s lead shortly after.
However, Horan’s lead was short-lived, with a wild spin dropping him down to fourth in the running order.
With the pitstops complete, Paul Pedersen, in a Mercedes-AMG GT2, found himself in the lead, while Allan Sargeant assumed the lead in GT4.
Pedersen would be the first to receive the chequered flag in the Open Class and was followed home by Steve Brooks and Paul Southam.
Sargeant held on for the GT4 win in the Ginetta G55, ahead of the Ginetta G56 of Scoles and the McLaren 570S GT4 of Gilchrist.
Armstrong was again on pole in Race 3, with local Brooks alongside. Gilchrist led the GT4 field to green ahead of Scoles.
The straight line speed of the AMG GT2 combined with a good start from Giddy put him into the lead, with Armstrong dropping to second and Pedersen slotting into third.
Scoles got to the front of the GT4 field, passing the McLaren of Gilchrist and fending off his challenge for several laps.
Back at the front, Pedersen climbed a position into second, passing Armstrong on Lap 2. From there, the field settled into a rhythm.
The pitstop cycles went through without a hitch, with all of the front runners making their stops within a few laps of each other.
With the stops complete, Manson assumed the lead, with Sargeant leading GT4. Both drivers remained unchallenged for the remainder of the race and went on to claim their respective class wins.
Following Manson home in second was Pedersen, while Fillmore completed the podium.
Steve Scoles finished in second place in GT4, behind Sargeant, with Gilchrist third.
The GT New Zealand Championship heads to Highlands Motorsport Park next weekend for round four, which will run in support of the New Zealand Grand Prix.
