Youngster McDonald excels on opening day at Teretonga

Southland drivers excelled during the Motorsport New Zealand Race Championship Series at Teretonga Park this weekend.

Sixteen- year- old Liam MacDonald, of Invercargill, led the way, winning the TL Class in the NZV8 Touring Car category.

It was only the James Hargest College student’s fourth round in the series but he ran competitively all weekend. He qualified strongly and then compiled three outstanding results including a win on a damp track on Sunday morning to take the overall round victory, a superb accomplishment.

The other Invercargill driver in the field, Grant Molloy, also performed well, ending the weekend on the podium in third place.

Molloy crossed the line in front on Saturday only to receive a penalty, which dropped him to third.

He was again to the fore throughout Sunday’s races although another penalty and a heartstopping moment on the front straight at high speed when he was tapped into a frightening spin cost him dearly.

Nathan Pilcher, of Winton, ran an older Commodore and capped his weekend with a best result of eighth overall.

Invercargill brothers Damon and Brendon Leitch showed plenty of competitiveness in the ultra competitive international Toyota Racing Series field. The more experienced Damon had a mixed bag.

He was on fire in qualifying, setting the second fastest time in both sessions. Unfortunately, his rear wing delaminated in the opening race, pitching him off the track and out of contention while in second place.

He had a difficult race in the rain on Sunday morning but bounced back to push leader Egor Orudzhev, of Russia, hard all the way to the flag in the feature race on Sunday afternoon, finishing second.

Brendon shone in his class debut with a best finish of 10th in the feature race.

Jamie Conroy, of Invercargill, extended his lead in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship with a clean sweep in all three races, a repeat of his effort at Timaru recently, while fellow Invercargill driver Steve Heffernan took Class 2 honours.

Andrew Cundall, of Invercargill, blitzed the NZ Sports Sedan Challenge field in his Toyota Levin on Saturday afternoon, leading home Pierre Neame, of Winton ( Ford Mustang).

In Sunday morning’s reverse- grid delayed start event, Cundall was on the charge but the race finished under the safety car and he managed only sixth. In the final race he charged through for another superb win.

Tony Forde, of Invercargill, won the Southland Clubmans race on Saturday from fellow Southlanders Malcolm Jones and Warren Kett but he was absent because of an exhaust problem when the field assembled on a wet track for Sunday morning’s race.

However, Invercargill driver Robert Ralston, who had missed Saturday’s race after suffering mechanical problems with his Nissan Silvia, had joined the fray and he romped away before a safety car closed the field up at the end.

Ian Clapperton, of Dunedin, and Kieran Roberts, of Invercargill, were second and third in their Holden Commodores.

Forde and Ralston were both on the grid for the finale but it was Roberts who took the spoils.

Paul Muir, of Gore, won the first Nitto Tyres NZ Six race in his Commodore, while Gore driver Russell Keeler, in his more modern AU Falcon, was the fastest on the track, coming through the field from his handicap to fifth.