Auckland driver Richard Moore has starred in his debut of the BNT NZ Touring Cars at Hampton Downs this weekend by taking the Class one round win in his Holden Commodore.
The class one round podium rounded out by Simon Evans in second with Jason Bargwanna in third.
Moore notched up a third place in Saturday’s opening encounter in what was a rain affected race, as series leader Simon Evans speared off the track finishing well down the order.
Moore had actually won the race, before a post race investigation penalized eleven drivers for weaving across the track after the safety car lights had gone out following the Evans incident.
A 10-second penalty relegated Moore to third place, with Jason Bargwanna in his Toyota Camry promoted to the race win.
Race conditions for Sunday’s two races saw clear skies and hot conditions greet drivers at the north Waikato circuit, where Evans fought back claiming two wins, with Moore close behind with two-second place finishes.
Moore who worked doubly hard by also competing in the UDC V8 Ute series, taking the round win there also says the weekend result was the perfect way to get his ‘late’ championship campaign started.
“Unbelievable! I haven’t been in a car like this for 12 months. We won in the ute too, it was the perfect weekend really,” says Moore.
“Big thanks to our sponsor group GVI.kiwi, Mike Pero and DownForce Advanced Driver Training – without them we wouldn’t have been here this weekend.”
“It’s all about building the momentum now, keep the ball rolling. We’ll get some more sponsorship support between now and the next round and hopefully continue the fight up front when the championship heads to the South Island in the new year.”
Simon Evans still leads the championship on 564 points, with Bargwanna in second on 505, and young Australian driver Bryce Fullwood in third on 400 points.
Class two was won by Wellington’s Brock Cooley, his first round win of the season. Auckland’s Brad Lathrope taking second place ahead of Hamilton’s Simon Fleming who took third.
The trio capitalizing on the misfortune of class two championship leader Kevin Williams who struck trouble in race two of the weekend with a DNF.
For Cooley however, he was pleased to be able to convert car speed into solid results for championship campaign.
“The Speedy Signs Falcon has been quick all weekend and we made the most of it. We won the first two races and grabbed second in the last one. Very happy.”
“We’re now second in the championship, 24 points behind Kevin, bring on the next two rounds in the South Island.”
The BNT NZ Touring Cars now head to the South Island for the next two rounds. Ruapuna just outside of Christchurch January 16-17 followed by Teretonga near Invercargill January 23-24.
