Scoular beats Brown at home
Kiwi teenager Zack Scoular denied Will Brown victory in the opening race of the 2025 Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Championship, while the F5000s were also close at Taupo.
Starting from pole Scoular schooled the field and controlled the race, producing “qualifying laps” throughout the 17-lap affair.
Supercars champion Brown was next best having overcome a challenge from Arvid Lindblad.
Scoular was delighted to overcome some big names to be victorious.
“The car was really, really good and as soon I made a decent start it was head down and then qually lap, qually lap, qually lap,” he said.
“Tyre degradation can be really bad here at Taupo but it really wasn’t too much of a problem for me in that race and I was able to push hard.
“I knew Will would be fast but I also knew that if I could stay a reasonable distance ahead of him, held never get himself in a position to pass, so that was my focus.
“It’s fantastic to take the win here first time out, a really amazing feeling.”
Despite missing out on victory, Brown was delighted to be on the podium in his first open-wheel race in six years.
“I was never close enough to have a crack but it was very cool to be back in an open wheeler,” he said afterwards.
“I tried to not lock up but I did it a few times so that’s something I’ve got to learn.
“Even so, we had a pretty competitive car and its cool to be on the podium.”
Australia’s Patrick Heuzenroeder hoped to finish in the top five at least, but dropped to ninth after a Turn 1 scuffle.
Qualifying for race 2 has already taken place with Lindblad snatching pole with his last lap.
It was enough to knock Peruvian team mate Matias Zagazeta off the top spot and push Scoular down to third.
The SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series was also producing plenty of action in its first round since November.
Two races were held on Saturday and they were thrillers, decided by less than half a second on both occasions.
Kevin Ingram extends his hold on the SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series open category title after this morning’s opening race win at the Taupō International Motorsport Park. Image: TAYLER BURKE
The opener was worth the wait as just two tenths split the top cars in a special finish.
Starting from pole, Kevin Ingram (Lola T332 HU48R) fended off Steve Ross by the tightest of margins.
Michael Collins stopped after the fourth lap as only ten cars finished, while Bruce Kett did not take part all day due to an engine change.
Brett Willis (Lola T332) took the chequered flag first having started from ninth position.
He overcame Tony Galbraith (Lola T332) by just 0.2s in the opener.
There was also a courageous dash by Michael Collins in the STP liveried Leda McRae GM1 finishing third, just 0.4sec behind.
Toby Annabel (McLaren M10B 400-08) gave the chasing pack a fright when he spun in the early portion of the race.
“That was hard work – I’m a bit unfit I’m afraid,” Willis said after the race.
“But I’m very happy – that was really enjoyable. They are a magic machine to drive. They look great, sound great and are fun to drive.”
Sunday’s two races include six-laps in the morning with a 10-lap feature from 4:12pm, making it four race point scoring opportunities toward the series title.
Image: Bruce Jenkins
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