Reigning Toyota 86 champion Rowan Shepheard wins race 1

Reigning series champion Rowan Shepheard capitalised on a strong start to lead the majority of the first Toyota 86 race of the weekend at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.

Current championship leader Simon Evans finished the race third behind rookie Hugo Allan.

An early red flag and wet track conditions meant the leading pack stayed close together for the whole race, with the opening lap setting Shepheard up for a good result.

“I slowed the car up a little more into the final turn to get a slingshot out of it and I think that was what worked well for me,” Shepherd said after the race.

“We have a great car in the wet so I was pretty comfortable after the restart although it is always difficult to lead these races, especially in unpredictable conditions. It’s great to win though and nice to see a rookie mixing it with us at the front too.”

Allan made his first podium appearance.

“It’s awesome and great to be up front racing two very experienced New Zealand drivers. I’ve struggled to relax that last two rounds but I’ve tried to be more relaxed this weekend and it’s definitely helping,” Allan said.

The opening lap of the race saw Shepheard biding his time behind Evans, before making the pass on the final turn of the circuit to move into the lead of the race. The battle between the leading pair allowed Allan to close up to the battle moving up alongside Evans, the pair racing side by side for some time before Todd Prujean crashed in the first turn.

The significant crash saw the safety car come out briefly before the session was red-flagged. Prujean emerged unscathed, however, the car was significantly damaged.

Shepherd lead the field to the restart ahead of Allan and Evans with Matthew McCutcheon in fourth.

Justin Allen, Brock Gilchrist, John Penny, Dion Pitt, Marco Giltrap and Ronan Murphy were all involved in a battle for position, letting McCutcheon drive away from the pack to close the gap to the lead group.

Gilchrist made the most of the close racing to move into fifth ahead of Allen.

By the end of the race, it was Shepherd from Allan, Evans, McCutcheon, Gilchrist, Allen, Penny, Giltrap, Pitt and Zac Stichbury rounding out the top ten.

Christina Orr-West had a strong run finishing 11th after starting the race from last, due to a ride height infringement.

 2022 TOYOTA 86 CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 – HAMPTON DOWNS – RACE 1