Stewart in championship lead ahead of final Mazda Racing Series event

The Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series will be on track in Taupo this weekend for the final round of the New Zealand championship. 

Ben Stewart heads into the round as the championship leader with a comfortable 158 point gap to Rex Edwards who sits second. 

The fight for the remaining podium positions is tight with Edwards, Matt Horne, Leo Bult and Andrew Jackson all split by 38 points. 

Stewart has had a strong run in his rookie Mazda Racing Series season, claiming the South Island Championship and sitting third in the North island championship after the first two rounds. 

Stewart took a clean sweep at Highlands Motorsport Park in January, with Edwards winning the following round at Ruapuna, before Stewart again took a clean sweep at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. 

After the strong start to the season, Stewart had a difficult weekend at Pukekohe Park Raceway when he was caught up in an incident at the hairpin in race two. The damage forced Stewart and Jared Leith who was also involved to miss the remainder of the weekend, with significant repairs to be made before the next event. 

The three-week break between the last round at Pukekohe and this weekend’s racing in Taupo gave the teams the time needed to complete the repairs. 

The series will be on track at Taupo International Motorsport Park this weekend for the final round of the Mazda Racing Series New Zealand Championship.

_{Photo: Joel Hanks Photography}