Chris White is chasing the unofficial triple crown of titles as the Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series heads to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in North Waikato this weekend for the final round of the series’ North Island Championship.
Competitors have three series that they can contest throughout the season: the respective North and South Island titles, plus the National Championship. White has already clinched both the National and South Island titles for the season.
As he comes into the final round of the North Island title race, he must overcome the challenge of Auckland driver Warren Crowther, who leads the points with 449 points to White’s 436. Each driver has taken two round wins, with Crowther’s coming at the last two meets.
White had a tough weekend last time out, not setting a qualifying time after a crash in practice and then completely missing race two of the weekend with mechanical problems, meaning Crowther left the penultimate round with the championship lead.
The scene is now set for an epic showdown. Leo Bult is currently third on points but won’t compete this weekend, leaving the door open for Stu Lawton and Aucklanders Nigel Edger and Stiaan Kriel to leapfrog him in the battle for the final podium spot.
The cat amongst the pigeons this weekend will be Christchurch’s Tom Alexander, at the wheel of series regular Sam Dashfield’s car in a one-off appearance.
In a similar cameo last season, Alexander, a former Toyota 86 Champion in New Zealand and Super Utes Champion in Australia, won the round with two race wins and a third place, so expect him to be a big factor this weekend.
Also on the grid is South Island rookie Arthur Broughan from Marlborough, who has had an impressive debut season in the class.
Not only will the overall North Island title be settled this weekend so too will the Masters and Rookie Championships.
Three races will decide the title this weekend, the first over 10 laps on Saturday with the grid decided by qualifying times, followed by two races on Sunday. The first of those will be over 12 laps, with the top ten on the grid in the reverse order of the previous day’s race finish order, and the last race of an exciting season, a 10-lap contest with a grid based on weekend points.
