Lawson clinches dramatic NZGP
Liam Lawson won a maiden New Zealand Grand Prix, the Rookie of the Year title and the Toyota Racing Series all in one race yesterday.
He is the first Kiwi to win the Grand Prix and TRS since Nick Cassidy in 2014 and 2013 respectively.
Yesterday’s Grand Prix at Manfeild was one of the most dramatic in its 64-race history. Only eight of 18 cars finished the race.
It was chaotic and packed with red-flag periods, and underlined by a critical penalty for Lawson’s leading rival Marcus Armstrong.
The penalty, a five-second time addition, came after the title contenders made contact with each other while wrestling for the lead.
Armstrong’s penalty drew mixed reactions. It followed similar lines to the penalty Armstrong incurred in race two, but Cassidy was among those who thought the call was harsh at the end of the five-week series. Armstrong ended the race second but dejected for a second year running.
Once Lawson had established himself in second place late on after the third race restart, there was nothing Armstrong could do to prevent Lawson winning the series on points.
He tried his best to win the Grand Prix with a series of fast laps as he tried to find the five seconds he needed to mitigate his penalty but Lawson responded and Armstrong, for the second year in a row at the Grand Prix, was left with only crumbs.
After the race, Lawson sought out Armstrong in the garages to console him after an epic championship that put the Castrol New Zealand Racing Series firmly on the motorsport radar as the best series in the world at this time of year for up and coming single seater racers.
Rivalries aside, it was a touching gesture from one star of the future to another.
“It was a weird race and I reckon I fluked the start as I’ve been having a few issues with those throughout the season,” said Lawson.
“But it all came together and I’d already made the move I needed to secure the championship when I heard about Marcus’ penalty on the radio. I was racing with the championship in mind, so to end up winning the Grand Prix is very special.
“I was a bit emotional on the warmdown lap. People were on the radio and I was getting some lovely messages. It’s very special.
“I have enjoyed racing with Marcus and although there’s a rivalry on track, we’ve become friends during the series and I can understand how disappointed he was after the race.
“It’s been a great championship, however, and he’s been a huge part of that.”