Liam Lawson will miss the rest of qualifying for the three-hour NZ endurance championship after smacking the wall on the exit of the Turn 2 sweeper at Highlands Motorsport Park.
The 18-year-old Formula 3 star was lapping the under official lap record earlier in the week in his first time racing the track Tec Racing Audi R8.
Lawson was driving with Scott O’Donnell this weekend but now the duo will have to hope they can hastily repair the car in time for the race which is slated to begin at 1 pm.
Alex Riberas and Darren Kelly set the early pace in the opening session with a blistering a1.29.756, four-tenths up on defending champions Neil Foster and Jonny Reid.
Greg Murphy and Dwayne Carter were third fastest but lagged the leading Aston Martin by over one second.
There will be one further 30-minute qualifying session for all three-hour competitors at 10.10 am.