Cameron Das wins in Manfeild as the stage is set for New Zealand Grand Prix

American Cameron Das has taken the reverse-grid victory in the final weekend of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series, while Liam Lawson managed to stay ahead of Marcus Armstrong in the championship fight.

Petru Florescu, from Romania, held pole-position in the reverse-grid-top-eight, with Das alongside him on the front row of the grid. Florescu suffered wheelspin off the start, and Das took the lead into the first corner.

Championship contenders Liam Lawson and Marcus Armstrong started in P7 and P8, after finishing first and second in yeaterday’s Race one.

Armstrong pulled ahead at the start, but a fierce four-way battle ensued over the first half of the lap, with Brendon Leitch and Australian Calan Williams battling ahead of Armstrong and Lawson in the first lap traffic.

By the end of lap one, the order was Leitch, Williams, Lawson, Armstrong.

Calan Williams was the first to be chased down by Lawson and Armstrong, with the three-way battle lasting about a lap before Lawson made the first break. Armstrong quickly followed, and Leitch was next. Williams went wide as Armstrong passed, and dropped back down the field.

Brendon Leitch proved incredibly difficult to overtake, and each time Lawson pulled off the racing line to close on Leitch, Armstrong was under his rear wing.

Raoul Hyman came close to Armstrong at times, but the three-way Leitch/Lawson/Armstrong battle captivated the Manfeild crowd until Florescu hit the wall at the end of Lap 4, drawing a red flag.

At the restart Armstrong had enormous drive, pushing past Lawson, but went wide later in the lap, giving Lawson back the position.

At the rear, Pter Ptacek spun after contact, while at the front, Lucas Auer overtook Esteban Muth for second on lap 12, while Cameron Das has drawn a 1.8s lead in first.

The Leitch/Lawson/Armstrong battle expanded, with Raoul Hyman and Calan Williams catching the pack as both championship contenders struggled to pass Leitch.

Dev Gore collided with Australian Jackson Walls in the last lap, with Dev Gore finishing in first, followed by Auer and Muth.

Liam Lawson finished fifth, with Marcus Armstrong in sixth. This gives Lawson a final three-point lead going into the New Zealand Grand Prix.

Lucas Auer will start the New Zealand Grand Prix on pole, with Liam Lawson beside him on the front row. Marcus Armstrong starts behind them in P3.

Join us for the New Zealand Grand Prix at 1502 local time (1302 AEDT) today.

FULL RESULTS TO COME.