Puerto Rican driver Felix Serralles has taken an early lead in the 2013 Toyota Racing Series after three closely fought races at Teretonga near Invercargill.

He heads north for round two with a fourth placing, a second and win that puts him at the head of the 18-strong field, five points clear of second-placed Lucas Auer.

The weekend produced three different winners from the three races, and those three drivers – Pipo Derani, Lucas Auer and Serrallés – are now third, second and first overall respectively in the championship.

Serrallés’ win in the Spirit of a Nation feature race yesterday (Sunday) did not come as easily as it might have.

A clean start in the race gave him a narrow lead but the Puerto Rican was under immediate and intense pressure from British driver Alex Lynn. The pair were locked in a tussle for the lead through the first lap, and Serrallés was defending his lead when cars spun in the pack behind them.

The incident brought out the safety car, bunching the field up, and when the track was once more ‘green’ for racing Serrallés and Lynn were side by side down the main straight, Serrallés on the outside.

A sudden gust of wind nudged the two cars together and it was Lynn who left the track, crashing heavily. The car was flung high in the air and much of its left-side suspension was shared off.

Almost immediately, Lynn emerged from the car, shaken but safe, as emergency vehicles arrived at the crash.

Afterward he paid tribute to the inbuilt safety of the Toyota FT40’s chassis which had performed as designed, protecting him from harm as the car came to rest. The crash brought out the red flag, halting the race and when the restart came Serrallés made sure of his position, controlling the pack until the track was clear for racing then accelerating away from his rivals.

Netherlands racer Steijn Schothorst was second, but the racer on the move was Lucas Auer, who charged up from fourth place to third and then overtook Schothorst to finish second. His epic drive kept him in touch in the championship points battle.

Throughout the weekend wild weather, high winds and the threat on rain squalls that did not quite eventuate had teams working hard throughout the weekend, making sure the drivers had the correct set-up for each race.

Lucas Auer had won the first race of the weekend, taking an early points lead for the championship, then was fifth in the Sunday morning race, building his points total to a narrow but useful lead 124 points ahead of Félix Serrallés and defending champion Nick Cassidy, tied on 121 points.

The 18 year old Austrian driver had been the pace-setter through most of the free practice sessions at Teretonga near Invercargill this week and capped his form with pole for the first first race, which he then dominated from flag to flag.

On the way to that first victory Auer reset the Teretonga TRS (and outright) race lap record, throwing down his title challenge to 2012 champion Nick Cassidy of Auckland. The Teretonga race lap record of 54.611 has stood since 2008 but was shattered by the flying Austrian, who posted a best of 54.282 for the 2.62 km lap.

Brazilian Pipo Derani, racing in blustery conditions this morning, likewise had a clean run from pole to the chequered flag, though a safety car period when Andrew Tang beached his car did put his win at risk briefly.

Derani selected the wrong gear at the restart and was unexpectedly slower than his rivals as the field began to accelerate, giving the other drivers a chance to sweep around the young Brazilian.

“I went into first instead of second and almost had a big problem but it was okay, once I got moving we were able to keep in front into the first turn and then get away a bit,” he said afterward.

Serrallés adds his name to a trophy that has been won by a who’s who of Toyota Racing Series champions including Mitch Cunningham and Daniel Gaunt.

As the championship enters its ninth season, organisers say TRS has been a stand out success, offering many young New Zealand racing drivers the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to compete at the highest levels of motorsport around the world. Young international drivers come to New Zealand to race TRS to hone their skills on unfamiliar tracks while their European tracks are closed for winter.

The Toyota Racing Series has propelled many local and overseas drivers into single-seater careers in the past eight years, but the series has not yet been won by an international driver. Racers now head for the Levels Raceway at Timaru for the second round next weekend.

The 2013 Toyota Racing Series will be televised on SKY and Prime TV in New Zealand, on Speed TV in Australia and Speed Channel in the USA, and to a further 39 countries on the Motors TV network in Europe.