Armstrong takes New Zealand Motor Cup as championship leader Liam Lawson crashes out

As rain threatened to fall at Hampton Downs, Marcus Armstrong lined up alongside Lucas Auer to contest this weekend’s Castrol Toyota Racing Series feature race: The New Zealand Motor Cup.

Dev Gore was turned around by Petru Florescu on the first lap but was able to recover, as Liam Lawson stuck to the tail of Auer in the fight for second place.

Gore spun again and was stranded in the middle of the track, bringing out an early safety car.

At the safety car restart,championship leader Lawson boldly moved to the outside of Auer into turn one and the move appeared to be complete, but he caught Auer’s front left tyre, sending him spinning into the wall and ending his race.

A red flag period ensued so that Lawson’s stricken car could be recovered, and Armstrong, Auer, and Artem Petrov led off the restart. Brendon Leitch moved up to fourth on the restart, battling hard with Cameron Das before Leitch went off line on lap 11, gifting Das the position.

Raoul Hyman was next to challenge Leitch, but spun the next lap after contact with Petr Ptacek.

At the front, Petrov quickly caught second-place Auer, who suddenly slowed on lap 19 and was forced to pit. This released Petrov, who chased down Armstrong’s three-second lead, but the Ferrari Junior driver was too quick, finishing with a 1.5 second gap back to Petrov.

The victory handed Armstrong the series lead, with a 34 point advantage over arch rival Lawson.
 
“It wasn't easy conditions," explained Armstrong afterwards. "I’m keen to see the replay of Lucas and Liam, because maybe it was related to the weather. It was a little bit slippery at some points. The race, however, was nicely manageable and I enjoyed it. I think Artem was coming at me with a great rate of pace, fair play to him. I just wanted to keep it on the black stuff and not bin it. This is one of the trophies I’ve really wanted, so I'm glad to have my name on it now.”
 
Post-race penalties dropped Ptacek and Florescu to 12th and 13th respectively. Australian Calan Williams finished in P7, with Jackson walls behind in P8, and Thomas Smith in P9, meaning that all three Australians finished together.
  
2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series - Round 3 Hampton Downs NZ Motor Cup Result
 
1. Marcus Armstrong
2. Artem Petrov
3. Cameron Das
4. Brendon Leitch
5. Esteban Muth
6. Kazuto Kotaka
7. Calan Williams (AUS)
8. Jackson Walls (AUS)
9.  Thomas Smith (AUS)
10. Raoul Hyman
11. Parker Locke
12. Petr Ptacek
13. Petru Florescu
14. Dev Gore
15. Lucas Auer
 
DNF: Liam Lawson
  
2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series – Championship Points After Round 3
 
1. Marcus Armstrong 203
2. Liam Lawson 169
3. Raoul Hyman 141
4. Brendon Leitch 125
5. Cameron Das 123
6. Lucas Auer 119
7. Artem Petrov 119
8. Esteban Muth 118
9. Kazuto Kotaka 97
10. Calan Williams 95
11. Petr Ptacek 89
12. Dev Gore 65
13. Thomas Smith 58
14. Jackson Walls 54
15. Parker Locke 53
16. Petru Florescu 48