Chris White kept his championship ambitions firmly alive after a superlative win in the second race of the fifth round of the Toyota GR86 Championship at Hampton Downs today.
In a thrilling race that showcased Toyota 86 racing at its absolute best, White duelled with pole position sitter Jett Murray for much of the race before finding a way past and fending off Broughan to take the flag. Jett hung on for an impressive second while Josh Bethune made his way impressively through a tight, leading top group to take the final place on the podium.
An early safety car after contact between Mason Potter and Zach Blincoe cost Broughan dearly after he breached the procedural rules for a restart and copped a five-second penalty. That would drop him down to eighth in the final order.
“Jett did an awesome job defending; the race was brilliant,” said White afterwards. “We’ve had a few bits of bad luck this season, so it’s great to get another win in the reverse top ten race.”
In the battle for the championship, Hugo Allan had a good race. A good start set him up for a strong performance, but after one attempt to pass championship leader Hayden Bakkerus came to nothing, he gathered it all up and finally found a way by Hayden on lap 10 or 12 to narrow the gap at the top of the table to just 26 points. They would finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jack Westbury – enjoying only his second race in his championship debut – raced hard throughout and showed why he could be a force in his domestic championship when it begins in a few weeks. He gave as good as he got in a thrilling battle for the remaining places in the top ten and sixth, which was a well-deserved result for the Gold Coast driver.
Saturday winner Justin Allen was another to put in a strong performance. He did not gain as many places as his championship rivals but gained enough to finish sixth overall.
Broughan’s time penalty would push him down the order to eighth on the final results, while Mac Templeton – another debuting this weekend in the Bridgestone GR86 Championship – and Cooper Barnes completed the top ten.
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins/Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ
