Bilinski takes FRegional Oceania title as Aron wins Highlands race two

Photo: TGR NZ

Bryce Aron won the reversed-grid Formula Regional Oceania race at Highlands Motorsport Park, as Roman Bilinski claimed the title with a race to spare by finishing third.

Despite only needing to beat Liam Sceats to take the title, Bilinski spent the race battling with the top two and was briefly challenging for the victory before falling back to third.

Bilinski started fifth, two places ahead of Sceats after a difficult opening race of the weekend. He was one of the best off the line, jumping up to fourth behind Jacob Abel who was forced to defend hard in the opening laps but could not keep Bilinski at bay.

The champion-elect set the fastest lap of the race as he closed in on Patrick Woods-Toth in second. The majority of the race was spent trying to find a way past him. Bilinski attempted the same move a few times, only for Woods-Toth to hold on, allowing Aron to pull away up front.

Aron was roughly two seconds clear when Bilinski finally got into second place. It took little time for him to close onto the back of Aron, and the two were soon side-by-side. Despite a small mistake from Aron, he managed to hold on to the lead and Woods-Toth rejoined the battle. Once he did, he quickly found a way back through to second.

The battle behind Aron [pictured top] resumed and he again pulled away to finish 1.2s clear for his first win. Bilinski continued to attack Woods-Toth though to the final lap, but the latter held him at bay and took his best result of the season.

Abel finished fourth, ahead of Callum Hedge and Gerrard Xie. Sceats had a poor getaway, dropping down the order. He spent the race in a close battle with Michael Shin and Sebastian Manson for seventh, but finished ninth behind the duo.

Race results (18 laps)