It was a successful debut in the new Mercedes AMG GT2 for Paul Pedersen, who won the Open Class of Round 2 of the Summerset GT New Zealand Championship at Manfeild over the weekend.
It was also a strong weekend for championship leader Brock Gilchrist, who won the round in the GT4 class.
Race two of the weekend, on Sunday morning, turned out to be a chaotic affair.
A long safety car period to retrieve the stricken Porsche of Raana Horan chewed up valuable track time in the 30-minute race. On the restart, and with only around five minutes to go, another safety car was called when Allan Sargeant made heavy contact with the tyre barrier at turn one in his Ginetta.
As a result, the race finished behind the safety car.
Where it got complicated for race officials, is that only around half of the competitors had made their compulsory pit stop before the first safety car period, with none able to be made during the caution period.
Post-race, time had to be added to the race times of a number of competitors, which affected the final finishing order.
The eventual finishing order saw the Porsche of Luke Manson take the win in Open Class, followed by the Mercedes AMG GT2 of Pedersen, and another AMG of Joel Giddy.
The GT4 class saw a first win for the Mercedes AMG GT4 of Sam Cotterill, followed by James Sax, also in an AMG, with the McLaren of Brock Gilchrist third.
The final race of the weekend turned out to be a gamble for most teams and drivers.
A drying track saw competitors start on wet tyres for the 30-minute race, with more rain forecast by the race’s end.
Saturday’s race winner, Clay Osborne, took the lead from the start from pole-sitter Pedersen, quickly developing a handy lead, while the AMGs of Pedersen and Giddy were harassed by a gaggle of Porsches.
Racers all largely fell into a rhythm until the compulsory pitstop window opened at the 10-minute mark. All competitors took their stops within a couple of laps, and with the cycles completed, it was Rick Armstrong who was at the front.
With the chequered flag falling after 30 minutes of racing, Rick Armstrong took the Open Class win, with International Motorsport teammates Manson second and Sam Fillmore third.
The Open Class round podium was rounded out with Osborne finishing second for the weekend and Armstrong third.
The GT4 round podium was rounded out by James Sax, with Sam Cotterill third.
The next round of the GT New Zealand Championship is at Ruapuna on 9-11 February.
