Matthew McCutcheon capitalises on early drama to take first win

Rookie Matthew McCutcheon has joined the list of race winners, claiming his first win in the Toyota 86 series in the second race of the weekend. 

McCutcheon claimed the lead early in the race, pulling away from the pack growing a two-second lead.

Marco Giltrap crossed the line second with Brock Gilchrist fighting through the pack to finish third. 

“It feels amazing to win and great to get the monkey off my back,” McCutcheon said.

“It’s really cool for the team and it’s a real confidence booster as the last few races have been challenging. I knew I had to go hard when the chasing pack behind slowed with that bunching moment but Action Motorsport gave me a rocket ship today and the car was great. It was pretty straightforward but I knew I had to build a lead as the group behind were definitely in a hurry to catch me up after that.”

Fynn Osborne started the reverse grid race on pole position alongside McCutcheon after the pair finished the earlier race in ninth and tenth. Ronan Murphy and John Penny started on the second row of the grid.

As the race got underway Osborne emerged in the lead, ahead of McCutcheon in second and Murphy and Penny in third and fourth. 

When Osborne made a mistake on the second lap, McCutcheon capitalised to move into the lead. The drama caused a concertina effect in the pack, with some cars making contact.

Marco Giltrap emerged in second ahead of Hugo Allan, Murphy, Brock Gilchrist, race one winner Justin Allen. 

The drama in the pack allowed McCutcheon to build a lead over the field, taking a two-second gap to the next car, which he continue to build on. 

Allan was close behind Giltrap looking to make a move, with Gilchrist and Allen not far behind. Giltrap crossed the line in second with Gilchrist making his way up to third on the grid, while Allan took fourth place. 

Championship leader Simon Evans took fifth in the race after moving ahead of Justin Allen who would finish the race in sixth. 

Championship contender Rowan Shepherd had a difficult race, getting caught in the lap two drama, dropping back to 14th. Though he would regain some positions contact with Christina Orr-West left him with disabled ABS, compromising his ability to attack. He went on to lock up heading into the complex before ultimately finishing 12th. 

John Penny recorded another solid top ten result with seventh ahead of Pitt, Todd Prujean who recorded his best result of the championship with ninth, and Orr-West rounding out the top ten.

2022 TOYOTA 86 CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4 – PUKEKOHE – RACE 2