A mature drive in the summer heat of today’s 15-lap race at Hampton Downs saw 19-year-old Triple X Motorsport’s Earl Bamber drive the VnC Cocktails Mad Butcher Toyota FT40 to third place after starting from sixth.
The first race in the third round of the 2010 Toyota Racing Series held at the brand-new 2.8 kilometre circuit, Bamber leap-frogged Estonian Sten Pentus and fellow Kiwi Richie Stanaway mid-race to break the procession. Claiming one spot following a red-flag re-started race in the opening lap, Bamber stayed with the front-running pack to seize the two-position opportunity when it came his way.
“You could tell Richie has got nothing to lose and Sten is racing for the championship,” described Bamber. “So there was a definite battle between them. Having a much better handling car than in qualifying we could keep pace and be ready to attack. So seeing them both make mistakes when they pushed each other wide at the hair-pin I capitalised – got ahead and started to pull away.”
“It was great to get third and finish in front of Sten, meaning we get more championship points against his previous lead.”
Managing to avoid the start-grid duelling, New Plymouth’s Stefan Webling got in behind Bamber at the re-start before some elbowing placed him mid-pack in seventh.
“The start was good,” said Webling, having started from ninth. “But our tyre pressure strategy didn’t work so made my progress feel backward. By the time the pressures got the tyres working it was too late to re-gain the places lost.”
As the starting order for Sunday’s opening 15-lap race, Bamber predicts the results will largely be dictated by the quality of the standing-launch. Followed by the weekend feature from 3:30pm, the 20-lap New Zealand Motor Cup race has been previously won by the likes of Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren.
“It’s also a real tribute to the guys that make up the Triple X Motorsport team,” added Bamber. “Their support and experience allowed by the opportunity to further improve my championship position: Ian – the team manager, the two Mark’s and Matt that work on my car – they’ve all been putting in a lot of hours.”
Championship points after today’s first race (round three Toyota Racing Series)
1. M Evans (Auckland) 449
2. S Pentus (Estonia) 428
3. E Bamber (Wanganui, Triple X) 402
Race results: Toyota Racing Series 15-lap race 1 Hampton Downs (top-nine)
1 4 Mitch Evans (Auckland) 25:11.568
2 28 Lucas Foresti (Brazil) +4.092
3 7 Earl Bamber (Wanganui, Triple X) +6.276
4 47 Ritchie Stanaway (Tauranga) +6.750
5 20 Sten Pentus (Estonia) +7.962
6 48 Andrew Waite (Auckland) +8.624
7 41 Stefan Webling (New Plymouth, Triple X) +10.847
8 69 Alastair Wootten (Auckland) +16.238
9 11 Ken Smith (Auckland) +24.708
Media: Lance Hastie; Photo: SportProMedia.com 6th Feb 10
