Round 4 of the Mazda Racing North Island Series witnessed intense competition at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in North Waikato, but Prebbleton driver Mac Templeton emerged as the weekend’s dominant force.
The young Cantabrian signaled his intentions early, securing pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session by a mere .065 of a second over the returning Arthur Broughan. He then followed up with three dominant victories, catapulting Templeton into title contention with only two rounds remaining.
In Saturday afternoon’s race, Templeton and Broughan engaged in a fierce battle at the front, with Broughan briefly seizing the lead early on before Templeton reclaimed it. The margin between them remained slim, but Templeton ultimately crossed the finish line .306 of a second ahead of Broughan.
Callum Pratt and Sam Dashfield maintained their positions in third and fourth, respectively, throughout the race, finishing in that order. Aucklander Andrew Jackson, making a rare appearance in the series, secured fifth place after overtaking fellow Aucklander Karl Gaines late in the race.
Gaines finished sixth, followed by Stuart Lawton of Paraparaumu, while Aucklanders Elton Wichman, Steve Brown, and Alex Canty rounded out the top ten.
The top ten grid was reversed for Sunday morning’s 12-lap race, placing Canty on pole. By the end of the first lap, Dashfield, Templeton, and Broughan had surged through from the back to take second, third, and fourth positions, respectively. Canty held the lead until lap 4 when Dashfield overtook him, followed by Broughan and Templeton.
Templeton seized the lead by lap 6 and steadily increased his advantage, eventually crossing the finish line 5.904 seconds ahead of Dashfield. However, Dashfield was later penalized 30 seconds for a clash with Broughan, dropping him to sixteenth in the results.
This promoted Lawton to second and Gaines to third, while Canty held onto fourth ahead of Wichman. Pratt finished next, ahead of Broughan, who recovered to be classified seventh after dropping to eighteenth following the incident with Dashfield. Nigel Edger of Hamilton, Phil Clemas of Auckland, and Steve Brown, who had been spun around at the start, completed the top ten. Jackson retired with a gearbox problem, while 13-year-old Ajay Giddy finished eleventh.
In the final race, Templeton led from start to finish, with Broughan keeping him under pressure throughout. Broughan eventually finished just .783 of a second behind. Gaines took third place, followed by Pratt and Lawton.
Jackson, after Leo Bult and Andy Neale helped change the gearbox in his car, climbed from fifteenth to sixth at the finish. Brown, Steven Spear, Canty, and Clemas completed the top ten. The race was briefly interrupted by a safety car period after Wichman went off the track while avoiding another competitor, and Dashfield was an early casualty.
Templeton’s strong performance earned him the round win, ahead of Broughan, Gaines, Pratt, and Lawton. Lawton’s fifth overall for the round was enough to give him the series lead, and he now heads the points standings with 394 points, just two ahead of Templeton, who is the top rookie. Gaines is third and the leading Master (Over 50) competitor with 387 points, while Pratt is fourth on 373. With two rounds remaining, the title race is finely balanced.
The next round of the series will take place over the weekend of March 28-30 at Taupō International Motorsport Park, which will also be the penultimate round of the New Zealand Series.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
