Wood just shy of podium as Sharp and Scoular share wins

Race 1 was a fairly straightforward affair for Sharp, who got the jump on pole position winner Ugo Ugochukwu at the start into Turn 1.

Sharp was pressured by Ugochukwu for the lion’s share of the competition, but never ceded the lead. All told, the MTEC Motorsport driver beat his M2 Competition opponent by a meagre 0.448s after 18 laps.

Kanato Le was third for Hitech TGR, three seconds away from the top two. In fourth was Ryan Wood, who recovered from a slow start to threaten the podium in the closing laps.

Just seven-tenths split Le and Wood at the chequered flag.

Jin Nakamura (Hitech TGR), Freddie Slater (M2 Competition), Zack Scoular (MTEC Motorsport), Yevan David (Kiwi Motorsport), Ernesto Rivera (M2 Competition), and James Wharton (HMD Motorsports/TJ Speed) completed the top 10.

“I got a great start and a great first turn and then it was just about trying to look after the tyres and hold Ugo off as he was very quick,” said Sharp.

“The push to pass gives us a bit of strategy in terms of options but it is still hard to pass with the aero wash, so I was fully aware how important a good start would be.”

Race 2 of the weekend was a frenetic affair from start to finish.

Yevan David started the reverse top eight from pole position, though it was Zack Scoular who got the holeshot to lead into Turn 1.

There was drama mid-way through Lap 1 when James Wharton got spun off the nose of Sebastian Manson.

With Wharton’s car parked up, the Safety Car was drawn. For the contact, Manson was given a drive-through penalty for the incident.

Scoular led the Lap 4 restart and left David to battle over second with Jin Nakamura.

Behind them, the battle for fourth was fierce. Nakamura’s teammate Kanato Le got stuck into the back of fourth-placed Slater and busted the front wing. That forced the Hitech TGR driver to the pits, which promoted Wood to fifth.

Nakamura clinched second on Lap 7, passing David into Turn 1. The Kiwi Motorsport driver tried to take the place back but locked up into Turn 2 and conceded the position.

David’s race would only get worse as he further down the field to an eventual ninth place finish.

With David out of the way, Slater and Wood waged war over third place. Slater was resolute in defence, however. Despite multiple attempts, Wood couldn’t find a way through and settled for fourth.

At the front of the field, Scoular was untouchable. In clear air, he clinched victory by 1.779s over Nakamura while Slater was another five seconds back.

Ugochukwu claimed fifth place ahead of Sharp, Nolan Allaer, Jack Taylor, Yevan David, and Fionn McLaughlin.

“I got a pretty good launch off the line and then built about a three-second gap at the start and just managed it from there,” said Scoular.

Formula Regional Oceania continues on Sunday with qualifying, which will set the grid for the 27-lap feature Race 4. The grid for Race 3 will be set by combined fastest lap times.

Results: Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Hampton Downs, Race 1

Results: Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Hampton Downs, Race 2