Marcus Armstrong wins Denny Hulme Trophy in interrupted TRS feature race
Marcus Armstrong was eager to recover vital championship points in Sunday’s Castrol Toyota Racing Series feature race, starting on the front row alongside polesitter Lucas Auer.
Esteban Muth was behind in third, with championship leader Liam Lawson in fourth.
Armstrong took the lead off the start and didn’t look back while an action-packed first lap unfolded, with Artem Petrov losing his front wing and Australian Thomas Smith taking a trip through the dirt at turn five.
The race quickly settled in, with Armstrong pulling away, and Lawson battling with Muth, as the Belgian repeatedly kept him at bay.
Marcus Armstrong during the race weekend at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park.
Towards the rear of the field, Parker Locke surged out of a corner and was drawing level with Petr Ptacek ahead, before the two locked wheels, sending them both spinning off the track.
A safety car evaporated Armstrong’s 3.4 second lead, and this was followed by a red flag while the track was cleared.
Lawson took third place on the restart, with a bold move on the inside of Muth, but Armstrong held his lead and drew away from the chasing pack.
At the rear, Smith and Petrov collided, leading to a late safety car which Armstrong would finish the race behind.
Lucas Auer finished second with Liam Lawson in third.
This result leaves the championship on a knife-edge heading into the New Zealand Grand Prix, with Lawson on a provisional 278 points ahead of Armstrong’s 273 points.
Australian Calan Williams finished in P7 with Jackson Walls in P10.
2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series - Round 4 Taupo Race 4 Result
- Marcus Armstrong
- Lucas Auer +0.805
- Liam Lawson +2.524
- Esteban Muth +3.322
- Raoul Hyman +3.639
- Kazuto Kotaka +4.052
- Calan Williams (AUS) +5.376
- Cameron Das +5.578
- Brendon Leitch +5.762
- Jackson Walls (AUS) +7.032
