Hampton Downs - NIFF Round 1

Thank you for opening my newsletter for the first round of the championship - I had a blast. The off-season was a lot of hours in the shed, on the bike, in the gym and on the simulator. We went into this round prepared, and wanted it all to pay off. We also had Glenn Mason from Syndicate Motorsport joining the usual team of Dad and Jason Liefting.

Practice and Qualifying

Practice? No need for that. We had one day allocated to racing, so we were straight into qualifying early on Saturday morning. We went out with our best approximation of the setup we'd use at Hampton Downs - and it worked. We were on pole by the second lap and stayed there, improving every lap to take pole position. Our lap of 1:10.004 stood until the end.

Race 1

I couldn't have been more pumped to get the championship underway, leading the field to the dummy grid. We were on pole, but as the lights went out Dylan got the jump and was into P1 by the second corner. I was straight back down the inside that lap, leading the race across the line for the first time, and held on for a few more laps before the madness kicked off. On the final lap Toby got the draft out of the last corner and just got me to the line by 0.02 seconds. P3 this race - but still on pole and in the hunt for the round win.

Race 2

The rain fell just before the race, and it was a sprint between the mechanics to make the setup changes in time. I need to thank Jase for not listening to me when I asked for a full wet setup - in hindsight, that was not the play. We led the field onto the grid with the track still wet. After the first couple of laps I thought Dylan had completely checked out, but the track dried quickly and our car came on big time, taking the lead with two to go and keeping it hooked to the flag. First race win of the season - let's go!

Race 3

This time the track was really wet - the first time I'd raced in those conditions since we rebuilt the car. Unlike a lot of other drivers, I love the challenge of racing in the rain. The lights went out and we were in front, but not for long, as rookie Jack Groenewald led into Turn 2. I was back down the inside two corners later, found the line with the most grip, and stuck to it. I got my first grand slam - pole, every lap led, fastest lap and the win - crossing the line 11.3 seconds clear.

A big meeting - I couldn't ask for much more. Bring on Round 2 at Taupo in November.

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