Richard Moore and co-driver Tim Slade have swept to victory in the TR Group Waikato 400 at Hampton Downs.
Moore and Slade guided their Mike Pero-backed M3 Racing Commodore to victory in Race 2 and secured second place in the final 60-lap heat to claim Round 2 of the BNT NZ SuperTourer championship.
Race 1 winners Simon Evans and Shane Van Gisbergen struck problems in Race 2 before scrambling to eighth ahead of their victory in the final race.
Van Gisbergen had to make an extra pit stop to tape up a passenger door that sprung open due to a broken lock, the problem costing them the round victory.
Andre Heimgartner and his mentor Paul Morris claimed the final podium in Race 2 behind Greg Murphy and Jack Perkins who went on to finish third Race 3.
Aucklander Moore took the final stint in Race 2, managing to hold off a determined Perkins.
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“The car wasn’t so nice when I got in but as the race progressed I got more comfortable with it and I could keep a consistent pace,” Moore said.
In Race 3 Evans was a close third when he pitted to hand the Holden over to Van Gisbergen.
A quick driver change saw Van Gisbergen rejoin in second and he quickly caught up to Perkins before taking control.
Slade then fastened on to Perkins’ tail and eventually got his Holden past with a dive up the inside into the fast turn one.
“I got a better drive on to the straight and only just got the car turned into the corner – I went in a bit sideways, speedway-style, and I think we just touched slightly,” Slade said.
Van Gisbergen and Evans were second for the round, despite their setback in race two with Murphy and Perkins third overall head of Heimgartner and Morris.
In the NZ Touring Cars, Jason Bargwanna backed up his opening race victory with a win in Race 2 in his Toyota Camry.
Nick Ross was denied the win in his Nissan Altima, classified second ahead of Ian Booth’s Commodore.
Craig Baird was fifth outright but the first of the TL class cars in the Team Kiwi Racing Commodore.
In the final race Ross created history by scoring the first victory in the category for the Altima.
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