Liam Lawson leads lights-to-flag in rescheduled Toyota Racing Series feature race
Taupo was host to the first of two feature races in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series, after the feature race from round 2 was cancelled due to high winds.
Liam Lawson was challenged by championship rival Marcus Armstrong off the start, and Lucas Auer was challenged for his third place by Artem Petrov into the first corner, but the top three were all able to hold their starting positions as the race settled in.
"I knew the start was going to be difficult,” said Lawson afterwards. “We both hit it on the start and both got wheel spin and it was pretty even into turn one.
Lawson appeared to be pulling away from Armstrong by the end of the first lap, but couldn’t hold the advantage.
"During the race there was hardly any grip and for the first couple of laps I kept locking wheels and had to keep shifting the brake bias back to help it stop.”
Auer and Petrov soon caught Armstrong and were applying consistent pressure, while Lawson got the leading car under control and built a real lead. The pressure paid off, with Auer passing Armstrong on lap six.
Australian Jackson Walls fought hard to defend his seventh position, with a train of five cars gathering behind him.
Parker Locke spun and was stranded in the gravel towards the end of the race, resulting in a brief safety car period before Lawson led the final two laps to the chequered flag.
Australian Jackson Walls finished in P7, with Calan Williams in P7, and Thomas Smith in P12.
2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series – Race 1 Result, Round 4 Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo
- Liam Lawson
- Lucas Auer +1.740
- Marcus Armstrong +3.310
- Artem Petrov +4.317
- Raoul Hyman +6.791
- Cameron Das +7.440
- Jackson Walls (AUS) +10.121
- Esteban Muth +10.409
- Calan Williams (AUS) +11.051
- Kazuto Kotaka +13.219
- Petru Florescu 13.663
- Thomas Smith (AUS) +14.023
- Dev Gore +14.350
- Brendon Leitch +14.553
- Petr Ptacek 17.371
- Parker Locke +1 Lap
