Canadian wonderkid Lance Stroll has wrapped up the Toyota Racing Series with a race to spare in the motor racing at Manfeild, Feilding, today.
Stroll was third in the first race this morning and that proved to be enough when his arch-rival, Indian Arjun Maini, came in to the pits with a suspension problem on the second lap.
“Once I heard Arjun was off the track I knew I had to finish in front of Brandon [Maisano],” Stroll said.
Stroll’s team-mate Maisano finished ninth and he moved up to second in the series.
Maini rejoined to finish at the tail of the field in 17th, but that dropped him to third in the series with the 35-lap New Zealand Grand Prix still to run.
For Stroll it means another series win after he took the Italian Formula 4 title last year.
The race was won by 16-year-old American Santino Ferrucci, his first win of the series after three second placings.
He and Briton Sam MacLeod flew past polesitter Stroll going in to the first corner and that was the order it finished with Callum Ilott (Great Britain) fourth with two safety-car interventions soaking up many of the 15 laps.
Kiwi James Munro slid off and out on the big sweeper on the opening lap.
With the series decided, everyone can go full out for the Grand Prix with Maini having qualified at No 1 on the grid.
Provisional points leaders after today’s race: Lance Stroll (Canada) 831, Brandon Maisano (France) 748, Arjun Maini (India) 722, Santino Ferrucci (USA) 716.
