Timaru’s Will Kitching came as close as you can get to a perfect round in the Mazda Racing Series over the weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park.
With Kitching qualifying on Pole Position, winning all three races, the round, sealing the South Island title and also extending his lead in the New Zealand Series, it couldn’t really get much better for the Timaru teenager.
The event was the second in the category’s four round New Zealand Series, and the fourth and final round of the South Island Series.
Kitching kicked off the weekend well, edging out Mac Templeton of Prebbleton by just 0.135 of a second in Qualifying to secure Pole Position. He then raced away on Saturday afternoon, building a lead of over seven seconds before a late safety car period brought the race to a close. Templeton managed to finish second after battling back from a slow start, while Stuart Lawton from Paraparaumu rounded out the podium in third.
The top ten from Saturday’s race lined up in reverse order for Sunday morning’s race, with Kitching quickly making his mark, moving from tenth on the grid to the lead of the race by lap 8. Then going on to secure victory by an impressive 10.824 seconds in the end, with Dalan Price finishing in second place, and Matt Dodd rounding out the top three.
It was a difficult race for some, as Anthony Tork tangled with another competitor early on, while both Rex Edwards and Templeton were forced to retire, with Templeton’s exit due to an oil pressure issue.
In the final race of the weekend, Kitching dominated yet again, winning by over nine seconds in the end. Lawton initially crossed the line in second, but a penalty for early race contact with Price dropped him to seventh in the final results. This elevating Dunedin’s James Black to second place, while Dodd moved up to finish third. It was another difficult race for Mac Templeton, who encountered a diff problem that would bring the young Kiwi to a halt early on.
It’s no surprise that Kitching won the round, with Black finishing in second place in just his second start in the series. Dodd rounded out the podium for the weekend in third.
Kitching also secured the South Island Series Title, leading home Dodd, with Mac Berkett of Nelson finishing in third. Berkett also won the Rookie title, while Anthony Tork of Auckland was the Top Masters Driver (Over 50). The Tork Engineering Team of Tork and Price would wrap up the South Island Teams title.
In the New Zealand Series the South Island hold the lead in the Founders Trophy, sitting on 821 points to the North’s 727.
The next round of the New Zealand Series takes place at Taupō International Motorsport Park over the weekend of 28-30 March. Followed by the Series final at Manfeild a week later over 5/6 April.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
