Brad Kroef continued the form that saw him win last year’s championship, qualifying fastest and then going on to Race 1 on Saturday afternoon at Manfeild.
On a much cooler track in the early morning, Kroef set the early pace in Qualifying, progressively lowering his times and locking in the pole, finishing with a 1:19.
Behind him, a number of surprises emerged.
Daniel Ludlam ran a scintillating last lap in the session to leapfrog up to the front row. Alex Fougere rediscovered the speed he had at the Taupo round, slotting into third. Greg Kroef, try as he might, couldn’t upstage his son and settled for fourth. And after his crew thrashed till late in the night Friday to replace a dead alternator, Phill Ross came alive to run faultlessly for all 7 laps to a well-deserved fifth fastest.
Race 1 kicked off early afternoon with 25 Super V8s on track at once, as the V8 Utes once again joined the V8 Open and TA2s. Being the biggest field of the season, some unique dynamics were to emerge later in the race
Brad Kreof led the V8 Utes away with a tenacious Ludlam clinging onto his rear bumper, proving the morning’s second fastest in qualifying was no fluke. Alex Fougere was on the pace right from the start and spent the first two laps challenging for second. But Ludlam held his line – and his nerve – to not only retain the place but extend the gap.
As the laps unfolded, Brad Kroef stretched his lead. “It was hard running out in front, I spent more time looking in my mirrors and at the lap timer than looking ahead to know how I was running.”
The Open V8 front runners had caught the V8 utes by the fifth lap, forcing the drivers to move aside and off the optimum line around the corners. Yet, like a finely tuned knitting machine, the Open V8s and TA2s wove their way through the field.
The race finished with Brad Kroef leading Ludlam and Alex Fougere. On the last lap, Greg Kroef caught Phill Ross and took back the fourth place he’d relinquished at the start.
Race 2 is scheduled for 11.16 am on Sunday, and being a reverse grid race, anything can happen. Race 3, the Round 2 decider, kicks off early afternoon at 1.38 pm.
Race fans who can’t make the journey to Manfeild can watch all the action from 10.00 am live on Sky Sport.
