Toyota Racing Series sees French karter Emilien Denner takes maiden victory in cars

Emilien Denner has won Race 2 at the Teretonga Round of the 2020 Castrol Toyota Racing Series, ahead of Lirim Zendeli and 2019 champion Liam Lawson.

After finishing P8 in Saturday’s Race 1, Denner was on pole position for the reverse top eight grid.

Lirim Zendeli was beside him on the front row, and both drivers started well, but it was Denner who held the inside line into Turn 1 and held off Zendeli on the outside.

Liam Lawson started third, but a mistake on the line saw Ido Cohen push around him at Turn 1 for the position.

Henning Enqvist spun off into the gravel, retiring from the race and bringing out a lengthy Safety Car period.

At the restart, Denner held steady, keeping Zendeli, Cohen, and Lawson at bay. The frustrated Lawson seemed unable to get past his teammate ahead, given Zendeli some valuable breathing room. Lawson saw his opportunity and took it on Lap 15, putting his car on the outside into Turn 1 before switching back to the inside, catching Cohen on the defensive.

As Denner drove away with the lead, Lawson caught Zendeli, and spent three laps attempting to pass, but to no avail.

Denner was first, followed by Zendeli and Lawson. “I was just focusing on my driving, trying to get the best out of myself," said Denner.

"The last corner was particularly important so they couldn’t get my slip stream. I think I had a pretty good restart so it in the end was fine. Winning gives me a lot of self-belief. Karting gave me a lot because I could win. Now here, it is all new for me, so it is nice to be winning again."

Australian Jackson Walls finished P16, with kiwi Chelsea Herbert retiring from the series due to a back fracture suffered in an incident on Saturday.