Trio in perfect form at Manfeild

All eyes were on the New Zealand Grand Prix on Sunday, but the eight supporting categories at Manfeild turned on their share of dramatic racing over the weekend.

Pukekohe Formula 1600 driver Liam Lawson, Wellington Porsche driver Matt Whittaker and Albany’s Toyota 86 driver Reid Harker shared the spoils as the most dominant drivers in their respective categories at Manfeild.

Lawson, 14, completed a nearperfect season in the Formula 1600 with three race wins at Manfeild.

He won 14 of 15 races throughout the season and set the fastest qualifying times at all five meets.

His win in race one at Manfeild locked up the Formula 1600 title, in doing so giving him a spot at an international shootout in the United States for a $200,000 drive in the USF2000.

The USF2000 is the first step towards Indycars which features New Zealand’s Scott Dixon.

Whittaker continued his run of success in the New Zealand Porsche Series, winning all three races at Manfeild comfortably.

There is still three rounds of the series remaining, but he looks likely to defend his title.

Harker also went three for three over the weekend in the Toyota 86 Championship.

That success saw him charge towards Ryan Yardly, who is top of the Toyota 86 tables with one round remaining. Yardly remains in control with 931 points, but Harker (857) and Michael Scott (830) are chasing hard.

Simon Evans also had a strong weekend in the New Zealand Touring Cars.

He won two of three races and it would have been a perfect weekend for him had it not been for a bumbled pit stop in race three.

That gave Waipukurau’s Sam Barry his first win in the series.

It gave a positive conclusion to what had started as a frustrating start to the weekend for him.

Race one was red flagged after Barry collided with Tom Alexander which sent Barry into the concrete wall.

Evans is 160 points clear of second-placed Alexander with one round of the competition remaining.

In the V8 Utes, Richard Moore continued his tussle with Paul Manuell for the top spot in the category.

Moore won two of the three races while Manuell secured the other, which helped Manuell stay on top of the championship standings with two rounds remaining.

Indian Jehan Daruvala won the weekend’s biggest prize, the New Zealand Grand Prix title, in the third race of the TRS.

Brazil’s Pedro Piquet and the Netherlands’ Richard Verschoor won race one and two respectively, but it was Australian Thomas Randle who took out the TRS title.

The Central Muscle Cars, GT1/ GT2 and GT3/GT4 featured different winners in each of their three races.