Photo: TGR NZ
Nicola Lacorte took his maiden Formula Regional Oceania win with a controlling drive in the reversed-grid race at Hampton Downs.
The race ended a lap early after a heavy crash for Gerrard Xie brought out red flags.
Lacorte jumped into the lead off the line with Michael Shin close behind. The pair pulled away from the rest of the field while Xie and Patrick Woods-Toth battled for third. As the race wore on, Lacorte edged away from Shin and was 1.47 seconds clear when racing was stopped.
Shin also had a simple race, comfortably clear of the battle for third to take his first podium since the opening race of the season.
The closest battle throughout the race was between Xie and Woods-Toth. Xie initially held third, but Woods-Toth was able to find a way through and briefly held the fastest lap. He could not shake Xie, though, and the defensive driving allowed those ahead to pull away.
Roman Bilinski had a slightly slower climb through the order than his race one charge from 14th to first. He started eighth, and the points leader was on old tyres. Despite the setbacks, he found his way up to fifth and challenged Xie for fourth.
Woods-Toth was able to pull away slightly as Xie fought to keep Bilinski behind. They ran side-by-side several times, and eventually Bilinski was able to make a move stick. Less than a lap after doing so, he caught and passed Woods-Toth too.
That then meant Woods-Toth and Xie resumed their battle as Bilinski chased the top two. Xie attempted a move on Woods-Toth but clipped the back of his car and went over his rear wheels, damaging his own car which then travelled at speed along the track and into the tyre barriers. The race was immediately red flagged as the medical team went to Xie.
Woods-Toth was classified fourth, ahead of Xie. Liam Sceats took sixth ahead of Kaleb Ngatoa, who had started from the back of the grid after a difficult race one and made up nine positions over the course of the race.
Elliott Cleary had the opposite fate. After a poor getaway, he dropped down the order and finished eighth.
Race results (17 laps)
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Lacorte | M2 Competition | 25m37.281s |
| 2 | Michael Shin | M2 Competition | +1.470s |
| 3 | Roman Bilinski | M2 Competition | +3.690s |
| 4 | Patrick Woods-Toth | Kiwi Motorsport | +4.709s |
| 5 | Gerrard Xie | M2 Competition | +4.866s |
| 6 | Liam Sceats | M2 Competition | +5.549s |
| 7 | Kaleb Ngatoa | Giles Motorsport | +7.046s |
| 8 | Elliott Cleary | MTEC Motorsport | +11.962s |
| 9 | Tommy Smith | MTEC Motorsport | +12.617s |
| 10 | Alex Crosbie | Giles Motorsport | +14.410s |
| 11 | Kaden Probst | MTEC Motorsport | +17.986s |
| 12 | Lucas Fecury | MTEC Motorsport | +19.613s |
| 13 | Titus Sherlock | Kiwi Motorsport | +20.016s |
| 14 | Jett Bowling | Kiwi Motorsport | +22.267s |
| 15 | Landan Matriano Lim | Giles Motorsport | +22.679s |
| 16 | Jake Bonilla | Kiwi Motorsport | +25.802s |
| Fastest lap: Bilinski, 1m29.403s
Championship standings |
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