Shane Van Gisbergen has obliterated the competition in the opening event of the fourth round of Racing Local Eseries.
Contested on the Sonoma Raceway RallyCross circuit, the 2016 Supercars champions walked away from the field once he scythed his way past erstwhile leader Matt Stevens with little over half the race remaining.
Staged over 12 laps, 16 drivers took to the grid for the feature event with the order determined by multiple heat races held earlier in the evening.
Ardent sim-racer Matt Stevens initially led the field on the opening touring, withstanding a valiant assault from Sam Dunstall behind.
The dual for third between Van Gisbergen and ex-Toyota Racing Series racer Liam Lawson climaxed when the youngster forced his rival off the tarmac at the penultimate turn on lap three.
But a tenacious recovery drive by Van Gisbergen meant the 31-year-old quickly latched onto the back of the front runners, and when the leaders became entangled amongst their own scrap, SVG capitalised to claim the lead and snare a dominant victory.
The eventual margin at the chequered flag to Stevens was 2.7s with Lawson edging Dunstall home for the final podium spot.
A strong drive by national karting champion Matthew Payne ultimately ended in tears when he crashed into the barrier on the penultimate lap while sitting comfortably inside the top-five.
Payne would go on to finish the race, albeit down in ninth.
The rest of the top Ten were made up of Will Bamber, Karl Samson, Matthew Pluck, Mitch Evans and Andrew Waite.
A full field of 62 drivers now trade dirt rubber for slicks and prepare for the final event of the series with a classic Formula 1 Grand Prix held around the hallowed Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy.
