Wills and Dixon fight on at Ruapana
Arch-rivals Scott Dixon and Simon Wills have taken a pole position each in practice for the second round of the Tasman Express Grand Prix Series
The New Zealand Grand Prix, run for cars from the Australian Formula Holden Championship, will take place at Ruapana tomorrow.
Qualifying for the preliminary race was disrupted by a series of accidents and was curtailed early. Indy Lights star Dixon pipped Wills by just 0.244s, but a broken CV joint means that he will only start fourth on the grid for the Grand Prix itself.
Former Formula 3000 driver and V8 Supercar champion Craig Lowndes was among the spinners, and after a difficult day of practice will start the two races from eighth and seventh positions.
Formula Palmer Audi driver Andy Booth had a series of mechanical problems in practice and first qualifying, but improved to sixth place on the grid for the Grand Prix.
Grid for Preliminary race:
|
1 |
Scott Dixon |
SH Racing |
Reynard 92D |
1m16.108s |
|
2 |
Simon Wills |
Birrana Racing |
Reynard 94D |
1m16.352s |
|
3 |
Matthew Halliday |
Challenge |
Reynard 94D |
1m17.173s |
|
4 |
Brenton Ramsay |
Birrana |
Reynard 94D |
1m17.627s |
|
5 |
Yudai Igarashi |
Hocking Motorsport |
Reynard 94D |
1m17.806s |
|
6 |
Paul Dumbrell |
Wynns Racing |
Reynard 94D |
1m17.820s |
|
7 |
Jason Liefting |
NRC International |
Reynard 95D |
1m17.993s |
|
8 |
Craig Lowndes |
Challenge |
Reynard 92D |
1m18.011 |
Grid for New Zealand Grand Prix:
|
1 |
Simon Wills |
Birrana Racing |
Reynard 94D |
1m16.587s |
|
2 |
Brenton Ramsay |
Birrana Racing |
Reynard 94D |
1m16.974s |
|
3 |
Matthew Halliday |
Challenge |
Reynard 94D |
1m17.161s |
|
4 |
Scott Dixon |
SH Racing |
Reynard 92D |
1m17.373s |
|
5 |
Jason Liefting |
NRC International |
Reynard95D |
1m17.428s |
|
6 |
Andy Booth |
Hocking Motorsport |
Reynard 95D |
1m17.647s |
|
7 |
Craig Lowndes |
Challenge |
Reynard 92D |
1m17.933s |
|
8 |
Paul Dumbrell |
Wynns Racing |
Reynard 94D |
1m17.985s |
|
9 |
Kevin Bell |
ENZED |
Reynard 91D |
1m18.793s |
|
10 |
Yudai Igarashi |
Hocking Motorsport |
Reynard 94D |
1m18.993s |
|
11 |
Peter Hill |
Murphy Motorsport |
Reynard 92D |
1m19.705s |
|
12 |
Daynom Templeman |
Murphy Motorsport |
Reynard 92D |
1m19.797s |
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