Young Auckland driver Casey Sturrock has won the 2020-’21 BMW Race Driver Series Dunlop E30 class, after sealing seven race wins in the 18 race season, with three pole positions.
In the 2019-’20 season, Casey finished fourth overall. Impressive given it was his first full season racing in the series having only appeared in a couple of rounds of the 17-’19 and 18-’19 season.
Dion Pitt came second and Lee Zeltwanger in third. Dion had a great weekend at the final round in Taupō with two wins securing him second place in the championship, Zeltwanger had a spin in race two at Taupō, this hut his chances of taking second in the championship.
The competitive spec racing series is still proving to be as fast as ever in its 14th season since conception with lap records still being broken.
Six drivers broke the previous lap record at the meeting last weekend in Taupō. Casey also set a lap record at Hampton Downs on the international circuit of 2min 00.2sec.
Multiple fastest laps also helped Sturrock secure extra points along the season. He started the season strong with double wins at rounds one to four, bar round three at Hampton Downs where he got a first and a second this help solidify his lead for what was to come.
Round five, which was back at Hampton Downs, was less fortunate for Casey in the first race. He had a failure on the first lap of race one, forcing him to nurse the car home to take fourth. He ended up not starting for the second race, while the previous race’s gremlins were being diagnosed.
The Taupō round was also a tough weekend, with Casey finishing eighth in race one after taking some damage, and seventh for race two. In the final race his gearbox let go, but he managed to get the car home in thirteenth despite the setback.
“The lead I got from the first four rounds really made all the difference,”
Casey commented
“I’m considering my options for next year,”
he said when asked if he plans to defend his championship next season.
“The E30 class isn’t one of them at this stage as I feel I’ve achieved all that I can in the class and am ready for what’s next, whatever that may be.”
Casey was also set to drive in the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 endurance series co driving with Brock Gilchrist, only for a crash to end a promising weekend early.
“I hopped into it Friday, did three practice sessions of about six to eight laps each, then had one flying lap to qualify. I was within half a second on Brock Gilchrist (86 series regular). He put us on pole for one race and second for the other.
“Unfortunately on the opening lap, I misjudged where I was on the road while battling for the lead which ended up with me off the road and ultimately my first big crash. But the pace we showed right off the bat was promising and definitely turned a few heads on Friday.
“I had multiple other drivers commenting on my ability to pick up a new car so quick, which was pretty cool to hear coming from people who have raced those cars for years.”