Mitch Sparrow had a weekend to remember. After setting the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday morning, he backed it up with a thrilling Race One win before going on to claim victory in Race Three on Sunday afternoon to secure the round win in the V8 Utes at Taupō.
Glen Collinson and Mitch Sparrow emerged as the standout performers across the weekend, with Collinson claiming Race Two honours and pushing Sparrow all the way in multiple encounters. With former champions Peter Ward and Brad Kroef also in the mix, the racing proved fiercely competitive throughout.
For Saturday morning’s qualifying session, overnight rain meant the track was cool, but Mitch Sparrow was on fire, posting the fastest lap for his first-ever V8 Utes pole. Glen Collinson was right on the pace, around 1.7 seconds behind in second, while Peter Ward looked right at home back in his Holden ute, posting the third fastest lap.
On the qualifying podium, flanked by two absolute legends of V8 Utes racing, Mitch confessed, “The ute was an absolute rocketship,” as he thanked Stoneman Race Tech for the ute’s preparation.
“I was just having fun driving it.”
Current V8 Utes series champion Glen Collinson said after qualifying second, “Credit where credit’s due, Mitch’s pace was in a league of his own,” the seasoned veteran acknowledging Mitch’s talent.
Peter Ward, making a welcome return to his Holden ute after several seasons racing a TA2, said, “I was hoping for a top five finish, so third was better than expected.”
As for the rest of the field, barely a second separated positions fourth to eighth, highlighting the closeness of competition and setting the scene for some ultra-close racing.
Race One in the afternoon delivered exactly that. When the lights went out, Glen Collinson moved across on Mitch, and they entered turn one two-wide, but Mitch didn’t flinch. Behind them, Brad Kroef slid alongside Peter Ward into the corner, with Brad prevailing. Daniel Ludlam wasn’t quite as quick off the line, stalling, with a quick-reacting Phill Ross narrowly avoiding contact.
As the laps wore on, Glen Collinson clung onto Mitch Sparrow like a limpet, but the youngster wasn’t intimidated. Glen unleashed a 1:43.037 fastest lap of the race, but it wasn’t enough.
Mitch stretched his lead to almost three seconds by lap six and held on to claim victory in a David versus Goliath battle, earning his second race win and massive respect from the entire field.
Brad Kroef, meanwhile, was pursued by former champion Peter Ward in an intense battle, but the two-time champion held his nerve to secure third place. In the midfield, Paul Fougere surged from eighth to sixth by mid-race before missing a gear and losing his position to Stu Monteith.
With performances like Sparrow’s adding real depth to a field packed with multiple champions, the V8 Utes category proved it was alive and thriving.
Sunday began with Race Two, run under a reverse grid format, unleashing a spirited session of tight racing and overtaking. Glen Collinson surged from 10th on the grid to claim the lead in just three laps. Mitch Sparrow produced a similar charge, climbing from 11th to second, but not before engaging in a lap-by-lap duel with Peter Ward, who ultimately settled for third.
Daniel Ludlam, starting from the front, came under immediate pressure. He managed to hold off the vastly experienced Collinson until midway through lap three, before then facing attacks from Ward as well.
Further back, Peter Ward took three laps to pass Geoff Spencer, while Mitch Sparrow continued his charge, overtaking Ludlam midway through lap six before also getting past Ward.
Geoff Spencer proved a formidable roadblock in the midfield, lap after lap, providing a slipstream for a freight train of frustrated racers. On lap eight, tensions boiled over as Brad Kroef bumped Stu Monteith, Greg Kroef joined the fray, and Monteith spun onto the grass in a dramatic moment of action.
In the end, Glen Collinson claimed the Race Two win, with Mitch Sparrow taking second, setting up a one-all scoreline heading into the final race of the weekend.
Race Three, the round decider, took place on a warm Taupō afternoon with temperatures rising both on and off the track. Starting from pole, Mitch Sparrow made a sluggish start and was overtaken by a fast-launching Glen Collinson into the first corner. Peter Ward seized the opportunity to slot in behind Collinson, while Brad Kroef joined the fight, moving into third ahead of Sparrow and beginning his pursuit of the leader.
Determined to fight back, Mitch attacked around the outside of Peter Ward at the start of lap two to reclaim third. He quickly set his sights on Kroef, making the move down the main straight to move into second. With a clear track ahead, his focus turned to Collinson.
Collinson defended strongly, holding his line and blocking multiple overtaking attempts. However, as the race reached its midpoint, the momentum shifted. Mitch began closing in, and on lap nine, he finally made the decisive move to take the lead. From there, he pulled clear to secure the victory and the round win.
Glen Collinson held on for second, while Brad Kroef completed the podium in third ahead of Peter Ward in fourth. Daniel Ludlam delivered a solid drive to finish fifth, while Phill Ross climbed from seventh to sixth. Geoff Spencer held off Stu Monteith to take eighth, while Greg Kroef’s race unravelled due to overheating issues, dropping him out of contention.
With the weekend complete, the series points stacked up strongly in Mitch Sparrow’s favour, although Glen Collinson and Daniel Ludlam remained firmly in contention. Despite the results, Brad Kroef retained the series lead thanks to consistent performances across the weekend and the season so far.
Looking ahead, the stakes were set to rise once again with the V8 Utes one-hour Taupō enduro in April.
| QUALIFYING | UTE | BEST LAP | |
| 1st | Mitch Sparrow | Holden | 1.42.267 |
| 2nd | Glen Collinson | Ford | 1.43.984 |
| 3rd | Peter Ward | Holden | 1.44.320 |
| 4th | Brad Kroef | Ford | 1.44.625 |
| 5th | Daniel Ludlam | Holden | 1.44.646 |
| 6th | Greg Kroef | Ford | 1.44.726 |
| 7th | Phill Ross | Holden | 1.45.459 |
| 8th | Paul Fougere | Holden | 1.45.687 |
| 9th | Stu Monteith | Holden | 1.45.947 |
| 10TH | Blair Gribble-Bowring | Ford | 1.46.163 |
| 11TH | Geoff Spencer | Holden | 1.46.864 |
| RACE ONE | UTE | MARGIN | |
| 1st | Mitch Sparrow | Holden | |
| 2nd | Glen Collinson | Ford | +2.871 |
| 3rd | Brad Kroef | Ford | +4.568 |
| 4th | Peter Ward | Holden | +5.773 |
| 5th | Greg Kroef | Ford | +20.317 |
| 6th | Phill Ross | Holden | +26.816 |
| 7th | Blair Gribble-Bowring | Ford | +29.793 |
| 8th | Stu Monteith | Holden | +32.285 |
| 9th | Paul Fougere | Holden | +33.138 |
| 10TH | Geoff Spencer | Holden | +33.654 |
| 11TH | Daniel Ludlam | Holden | +35.159 |
| RACE TWO | UTE | MARGIN | |
| 1st | Glen Collinson | Ford | |
| 2nd | Mitch Sparrow | Holden | +2.787 |
| 3rd | Peter Ward | Holden | +4.111 |
| 4th | Daniel Ludlam | Holden | +7.593 |
| 5th | Brad Kroef | Ford | +18.765 |
| 6th | Greg Kroef | Ford | +19.572 |
| 7th | Phill Ross | Holden | +20.704 |
| 8th | Geoff Spencer | Holden | +21.588 |
| 9th | Paul Fougere | Holden | +22.246 |
| 10TH | Blair Gribble-Bowring | Ford | +22.664 |
| 11TH | Stu Monteith | Holden | +59.440 |
Header Image: Dillon Photography
