The 2022 Toyota 86 Championship title fight is getting tight between the top three contenders.
A strong performance in the last round at Pukekohe Park Raceway, put Justin Allen into the championship fight.
Allen took two race wins, as well as the round win to put himself into the fight, as Simon Evans and Rowan Shepherd both had tough races.
Shepherd took a good result in the final race, taking advantage of late-race drama to pick up some more spots, to finish on the podium. The reigning champion took enough points through the weekend to take the series lead from Evans.
The top three emerged from Pukekohe with Shepherd 14 points ahead of Evans, and Allen another 15 points behind Evans and 29 points off the lead.
Shepherd and his team have consistently been able to make the most of each race, maximising the points haul in tough races, something Evans has also been good at.
The next round will be held at Taupo, where Evans was strong last season taking a race win, Allen also crossed the line first there last season, though he was later penalised losing the win for a start line infringement.
Though the championship fight will likely come down to these three, there are many other drivers who will be strong at the next round.
Hugo Allan made his debut at the track last season and has been strong this season, Matthew McCutcheon took his first win at Pukekohe, while Christina Orr-West and Todd Prujean both had their best round of the season at Pukekohe, they will all be looking to continue the momentum at the next round.
Ronan Murphy and Brock Gilchrist have both had speed this season but have also been hampered by bad luck, something they will try to turn around at Taupo, Gilchrist took his first win in the series at the track last season.
The round will kick off on Friday with three practise sessions ahead of qualifying and the first race on Saturday, and two more on Sunday.
2022 TOYOTA 86 CHAMPIONSHIP – POINTS AFTER FOUR ROUNDS
1 Rowan Shepherd 767
2 Simon Evans 753
3 Justin Allen 738
4 Marco Giltrap 667
5 Matthew McCutcheon 616
6 Hugo Allan 600
7 Dion Pitt 558
8 John Penny 525
9 Brock Gilchrist 444
10 Zac Stichbury 435
11 Ronan Murphy 421
12 Clay Osborne 404
13 Christina Orr-West 358
14 Mark Mallard 318
15 Chelsea Herbert 298
16 Fynn Osborne 276
17 Todd Foster 276
18 Todd Prujean 230
19 Sam Cotterill 172
20 Will Morton 164
21 Rianna O’Meara-Hunt 158
Picture Bruce Jenkins