Simon Evans produced a faultless drive to claim a dominant victory in the opening BNT NZ V8 Touring Cars Championship race of the Pukekohe meeting.

After claiming pole position in the morning’s qualifying session, the Aucklander transferred his pace into the race.

Evans faced pressure from Angus Fogg before marching into a comfortable lead which he maintained until the chequered flag.

Edgell came through to finish second with Mitchell Cunningham claimed the final spot on the podium.

While the Smeg Holden driver enjoyed a relatively straight forward drive out front, there was plenty of action behind.

Fogg had held second spot for the majority of the race but a hairy moment at the final corner on the penultimate lap saw him drop down the order.

The 48-year-old from Cambridge lost control of his Commodore at the high speed final turn and was lucky to avoid contact with the barriers.

The spin saw him rejoin the race in fourth position behind Edgell and Cunningham, who enjoyed a race long battle.

Jason Bargwanna came home in fifth in the Toyota Camry, ahead of Tom Alexander and Scott Taylor.

V8 rookie Bryce Fullwood showed promise in the early stages as he held fifth following a move on Bargwanna.

However, the Darwin teenager retired from the race after nine laps.

After qualifying eighth, Craig Baird failed to make the start of the race in the Team Kiwi Racing entry.

The BNT NZ V8 Touring Car Championship will host two 12 lap races on Sunday with the first scheduled for 1145 local time.

Meanwhile, Paul Manuell completed a lights-to-flag win in the UDC V8 Ute Racing Series.

Kris Walton had no answer to Manuell’s speed with the Australian V8 Utes title contender forced to steel for second ahead of James Urquhart.

Ash Blewett starred in the Toyota Finance TR 86 Series as he emerged victorious in a Safety Car interrupted race.

The contest was neutralised on the second lap when Reid Harker suffered a heavy crash at Turn 1 when occupying second spot.

Blewett made no mistakes when racing resumed as he went on to take the win from Callum Quin and John Penny.

Shane Wigston and Andrew Turner shared the spoils in the two Central Muscle Cars encounters.

Wigston dominated the opener as he took the honours from Dean Perkins and Andy Knight.

Turner was the star of the handicap reverse grid contest with the Holden Commodore driver making the most of an early Safety Car period, caused by a spectacular engine failure for Greg Cuttance.

The Chevrolet Camaros of Mark Holland and David Hopper filled the podium places.

Jayden Dodge took a narrow victory over Kieran Rollinson and Joel Herbert in the Ssangyong Ute Racing Series. Pole-sitter Alexandra Whitley dropped to sixth at the flag.