Johnson wins FRegional Oceania race which starts with huge crash

Photo: TGR NZ

Nikita Johnson won Formula Regional Oceania’s reversed-grid race at Highlands Motorsport Park, which began in dramatic fashion.

The M2 Competition driver started on pole, and MTEC Motorsport’s Nicholas Monteiro got alongside himthrough turn one.

His team-mate Shawn Rashid then made it three-wide, but it was not possible to continue that side-by-side action into the turn 2/3 chicane, and they went back into formation. Zack Scoular held fourth behind his team-mates, while chaos erupted behind.

Race one winner Patrick Heuzenroeder was on the outside approaching the corner and as the pack slowed his rear-right wheel hit Matias Zagazeta’s rear-left. It destabilised both cars, sending MTEC’s Heuzenroeder spinning across the grass and missing the chicane entirely.

Zagazeta did make the corner, but as the M2 driver slowed on exit to avoid Heuzenroeder’s reappearing car he moved across into the path of team-mate Michael Shin, who had no time to respond. Shin was hit sideways by Zagazeta, which knocked their other team-mate Arvid Lindblad off track and into the barriers in a heavy impact.

Shin’s front wing got lodged under his car and he trundled back to the pits, where he was then wheeled into his team’s garage, and Giles Motorsport’s Will Brown lost his front wing as he and MTEC’s Broc Feeney bounced across the grass avoiding the crashes. M2’s Enzo Yeh also had to drive way off track to avoid Heuzenroeder’s spun car.

Heuzenroeder, Lindblad and Shin all confirmed they felt physically fine afterwards, and were confident their cars would be repaired in time for the season-ending New Zealand Grand Prix. M2 however said it was highly likely it could get Lindblad’s chassis race-ready in time and brought in a replacement tub.

The safety car led the field around while the incidents were cleared, and for the lap seven restart M2’s Sebastian Manson was in fifth ahead of Zagazeta, and Kiwi Motorsport’s Jett Bowling and James Lawley. Brown was down in 14th and last after his front wing change.

Johnson and Monteiro quickly raced away from the rest of the pack, which ran in two trains and had Supercars team-mates Feeney and Brown squabbling at the rear.

The top two were still split by only 0.6 seconds after 13 laps, but then Johnson upped the ante and he was two seconds down the road before backing off on the final lap to fnish 1.119s ahead.

A further 7.389s behind was Rashid, and Scoular was chased home by Manson and Zagazeta.

Nicolas Stati passed his team-mate Bowling for seventh, but they banged wheels with a few laps to go and the latter dropped to last.

Brown got past Feeney in the battle at the back, and both got five-second track limits penalties.

Race results (18 laps)