The VW Golf GTi TCR of Grant and Cole Askew has blitzed the field for victory in Class 4 & 5, the One-Hour event on Saturday in the South Island Endurance Series at Levels Raceway in Timaru.
Second place for the Scott O’Donnell Hyundai i30N was enough for Scott to claim the Class 4 and 5 One Hour title. This result is supported by a win at Ruapuna in Round 1 [paired with Michael Lyons] and runner-up, on his own, at Teretonga last time out.
It was Andre Simon who qualified fastest for the event, the straight-line speed of the Toyota 86 turbo showcasing the raw power of the car.
That speed was of benefit to Simon off the start, quickly pulling away from the second-placed O’Donnell into Turn 1.
Askew also got a good jump from third on the grid, passing O’Donnell to take second heading into the first corner.
Simon and Askew then went about a battle for the lead, Simon holding on down the long back straight with its superior strait-line speed with Askew making up ground in the tight stuff.
A safety car intervention after just five minutes saw the field re-bunch. This was triggered by an off for the Subaru WRX of Mark Neville and Jonathan Prince, the car beaching itself on the loose gravel at the top of the circuit.
As Murphy’s Law would have it, the stricken car un-beached itself to return to the running at the very moment the safety car took to the track.
From here, Askew continued to build on the lead each lap, the field settling into a clean rhythm over the mid-stages of the event.
It was around this point, also, when Teretonga third-place getter Warren Black was forced out with mechanical difficulties.
Even a late stop and driver change couldn’t slow down the Golf GTI, the gap to second-placed O’Donnell some 21 seconds with 15 minutes remaining.
Askew held on to take the victory over O’Donnell. It was an impressive drive for third from Russell McKenzie, who started fifth on the grid, a clean, drama-free race helping his cause. A drive-through penalty for Mike Hall late in the race also helped push McKenzie to this result.
Four cars finished on the lead lap, 52 the number completed.
With the 2022 SIERDC Series now complete, O’Donnell wrapped up the Class 4 title with his second place at Levels Raceway.
The Class 5 title was won by Brad Rule, in a Honda Civic, who finished second in class for the event. The Lotus Exige of Mark Meadows was the fastest Class 5 car of the day.
