Impressive Bewley claims Toyota 86 thriller

Youngster Tom Bewley has claimed his maiden Toyota 86 victory in incredible fashion, pipping Dion Pitt in a sprint for the line to take the flag by .07 of a second.

The 15-year-old had worked his way forward from seventh on the grid and taken the lead off Dion Pitt on the penultimate lap.

What transpired next was nothing short of incredible, the duo locked in a fierce last lap battle which saw side-by-side racing for a large portion of the lap.

Bewley did enough to get things done, showing a sense of maturity and race-craft well beyond his years.

Pitt will feel unlucky not to get victory but should relish a well-deserved second place.

Yesterday’s race winner Brock Gilchrist also had a scorching run, working his way onto the podium from 10th on the grid.

The reverse Top 10 starting grid saw yesterday’s 10th-place getter Fynn Osborne start on pole with Rylan Gray on the front row alongside.

Credit should be paid to the teams of Harry Townshend and Saxon Sheehan for getting their cars to the grid following the heavy damage sustained yesterday.

Come race start, it was the Australian, Gray, got a great launch to go into the chicane side-by-side with Osborne and emerge out the other side with the lead.

Unlike yesterday, the field got through the first lap cleanly after quickly falling into file

Osborne and Gray came into contact, entering the pit straight on Lap 2, the Kiwi putting his nose up the inside and tapping the left rear of the Australian. Gray spun and re-emerged in the midfield whilst Pitt pounced to take the race lead.

Osborne was investigated for the incident.

The reverse top 10 saw yesterday’s leaders begin to work their way forward through the mid-stages, youngster Tom Bewley working his way into third on Lap 3 after starting seventh.

Justin Allen also followed through, passing Christina Orr-West to move into fourth. Gilchrist followed through to sit fifth after five laps.

Bewley and Allen then quickly got past Osborne to move up the podium as Pitt began to slowly build on his lead up front.

An exciting, hectic race finally fell into a rhythm of sorts until the final two laps when Gilchrist caught the leaders and overtook Allen with an excellent move coming off the bridge.

Bewley had also quietly gone about hunting down Pitt, creating an incredible battle which saw the 15-year-old take the lead on pit straight to begin the final lap.

An incredible battle transpired with the two well clear of the pack, Pitt maintaining contact and running parts of the final lap side-by-side in some heart-in-mouth racing.

Both drivers displayed incredible pace but also some great awareness to ensure things remained clean and fair.

Coming onto the straight to the flag saw the duo in a drag to the line, Bewley just holding on by .07 of a second to take his maiden victory.

Gilchrist rounded out the podium with Allen coming in a respectable fourth.

Orr-West rounded out the top five.

The final Toyota 86 race of the weekend begins at 2.35pm.

Header Image: Mark Petch