Bridgestone GR86 Championship leader Chris White will be hoping for another strong weekend as the series heads into its penultimate round at Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon this weekend.
If the Neale Motorsport driver – currently sitting on the top of the table with a 46-point lead over the rest – does have another blinder, then he will head into the final round in a commanding position. If he doesn’t, then at least three other drivers in this intriguing season will be ready to pounce.
In a closely fought and highly competitive season – as it always is in the Bridgestone GR86 Championship – White has delivered the most important ingredient in any successful championship campaign – consistency. No mean feat given his team – led by the experienced Andrew Neale – is new to the championship this season.
Neale would be the first to say his driver is far from home and dry, however, and chief amongst his rivals is Zach Blincoe, who is second in the points. Always refreshingly honest in his assessment of his own performances, Zach has acknowledged when he hasn’t been quick enough in qualifying and when he hasn’t been quick enough in races.
The fact that he sits second in the points shows just how fast he has been, albeit without White’s absolute consistency. A big weekend combining speed and consistency could be a game changer – and a championship changer – for Blincoe and Mackenzie Motorsport.
A big threat to both ahead of him is Josh Bethune, who has been scoring well despite a last-minute start to his season’s championship trail.
He’s had a couple of weekends where he would have definitely preferred to be closer to the outright pace, but he has still delivered results, and that is what matters in this championship. Manfeild is a crucial weekend for him, but there is no reason to expect that he won’t be at the sharp end of the grid.
Slightly further back in the championship standings in fourth is reigning champ Hugo Allan, and he must have a massive weekend in the Manawatu to give himself a fighting chance of retaining his title when the series heads to Taupo and Supercars in April for the final round.
Arthur Broughan showed plenty of pace at Highlands, much the same as he did at the first round at Hampton Downs, but he has plenty of work to do to turn that pace into a significant move forward in the title chase.
For race wins this weekend, the next five in the championship are all contenders, and that is what they will be focusing on. Cooper Barnes’ season is gathering momentum with every round, while Ajay Giddy is definitely due a win.
Leading rookie Lee Zeltwanger is another getting closer to the front with every round, and a big result for him is surely just around the corner. Justin Allen, meanwhile, is almost guaranteed to go well at his home track and with the momentum of a solid couple of rounds behind him, he’s another on the move up the points table.
Harry Townshend knows his way around the Feilding track too, and is due some better luck to go with his undoubted speed.
It all begins with Friday testing, followed by Saturday’s qualifying session. The fastest times each driver records in that session will form the grid for Sunday’s feature race, while the second fastest times from qualifying will produce the grid for Saturday’s first race. Sunday morning’s battle will be a reverse top ten of Saturday’s race results.
Header Image: John Cowpland
