A shower of rain in the final minutes brought about a dramatic conclusion to the 3-hour North Island Endurance Series race, with Damon Leitch tip-toeing home to deliver victory in the McLaren 650S he shared with Glenn Smith and John De Veth.
Leitch was forced to fend off an hour-long challenge from reigning champion Jonny Reid for his spoils, with the former A1GP driver caught out by the conditions and dropping from second place to off the podium in a series of events over the final 10 minutes.
Hampton Downs race winners Luke Manson and James Penrose (Audi R8) were the only cars among the lead four to switch to wet tyres when conditions worsened. The decision worked in their favour, as Penrose overcame Andrew Waite over the final laps for second place.
Glen Brazier and Waite drove their Lamborghini Huracan to third, with Reid and Sam Fillmore left in fourth, ahead of Steve Brooks and Bill Riding.
Simon Gilbertson and John McIntyre were the Class 2 winners, with the Marc Mustang of Paul Rickerby and Graeme Rhodes forced out with issues.
Marco Giltrap and James Sax won uncontested in Class 3.
De Veth had earlier led proceedings to green from the pole, with Fillmore falling in behind but overcome by Brooks in the first 30 minutes.
Brazier and Manson were an even match through the early phases, with less than one second separating the pair 40 minutes in, with the Lamborghini holding the advantage.
All gaps were erased shortly after when Brooks spun out of second through the final corners and was left stranded. The day’s first safety car was required as he was towed from the gravel, and the team lost a lap.
Fillmore and Manson immediately dove into the pits, with De Veth, who had built a comfortable advantage at the front, and Brazier remaining out. They would stop next lap, but staying out longer put Fillmore into the lead, with Manson taking second ahead of Brazier and Smith, who took over from De Veth.
The McLaren was back up to second just after the one-hour mark, with Smith passing Manson and Brazier in a three-wide move down the back straight.
By the 90-minute mark, Fillmore had put a gap over the field, with Smith several seconds behind.
Fillmore stopped with 70 minutes to run, handing the car over to Reid, but a slower stop cost them the lead. Leitch took over from Smith and hit the front, with Reid falling in directly behind in second.
A battle for the ages lasting dozens of laps followed, with the Highlands Operations Manager managing to keep the defending champion at bay.
Waite worked hard to overcome Penrose mid-way through his stint and ran third, entering the final 20 minutes.
A darkening sky turned into showers of rain that quickly intensified, and Penrose promptly came in to switch to wet tyres with 8 minutes remaining.
Reid spun from second in the conditions and came into pit lane with three minutes to run, only for his team to deny his request for wet tyres.
Riding was also caught out by the slick track with a spin, losing another lap on the leaders as he battled his Audi.
Another spin for Reid in the final two minutes saw him return to the pit lane and change tyres with just 43 seconds left on the clock.
Up front, Leitch battled the conditions to hold on for the victory, with Penrose able to make inroads on Waite to claim second, 28 seconds behind the winners.
Waite finished 31 seconds behind the Audi in third, with Reid bringing the Audi a lap down, directly behind the victors.
The North Island Endurance Series returns for Round 3 on the Hampton Downs International Circuit on June 15.
