Matthew Hamilton has won the Wigram Cup at the first round of the Yokohama South Island Formula 1600 Championship.
Hamilton took two of the three available race wins at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, finishing second for the weekend.
“It’s pretty special,” Hamilton said.
“We knew we would be fast enough, but it was a tough fight out there with Simon [Hunter] and young Louis [Sharp], Zac [Christensen] and Jack [Noble-Adams].”
Kart champion Louis Sharp took second overall and won class 1 for the weekend.
This was Sharp’s debut in the series, with a strong first outing, putting his car on pole for the first race and finishing on the podium in all three races.
“I’m really stoked,” said Sharp.
“Going into the weekend I didn’t really expect to be up there. I knew we would be thereabouts but was shocked to put it on pole.
“We don’t have the amount of experience as some of the others and thought that I would be under prepared. I have learned heaps from the weekend.”
Eight-time national Kartsport Champion Simon Hunter drove his ex-Andre Heimgartner championship-winning Mygale SJ08A to second in the Wigram Cup race and third overall in Class 1.
“Very happy with that,” Hunter said.
“It’s my first ever car event having only previously raced in kartsport. I have a little son now and don’t want to get to 50 and say that I was good in a kart and did all this and have him say he never got to see it.”
The 12-lap Wigram cup feature race saw a fight between Hamilton, Hunter, and Sharp.
“It was always going to be tight at the top and I knew if I could just get enough of a gap to break the toe and to stay there then Simon would have to worry more about his mirrors,” said Hamilton.
“I was quite good off the first turn and it was just enough to get there. It was really close racing, and everyone gave each other room which was pretty cool. The car is quick, and we are lucky to have Tom Penrose involved like he has been my whole career, preparing the car.”
Hamilton also won Class 3 (pre-1990) while Cameron Freeman in the ex-James Penrose Van Diemen Stealth was first in Class 2 (1990-1999).
The series now heads to the Timaru International Raceway for their second-round November 6.
Main image: Terry Marshall/Euan Cameron Photography
