Ugochukwu flunks dramatic Teretonga Formula Regional finale

Ugochukwu led the lion’s share of the 29-lap race, only to spear off in the closing laps following a Safety Car restart.

The mistake gifted teammate Freddy Slater the win to close the gap from 44 points to just 15 with one round remaining.

“Honestly, we didn’t have the pace in the dry,” said Slater.

“You saw Ugo passed me and then the red flag, I knew it was reset time.

“Managed to reset quite well and put some pressure on that Safety Car restart.

“I had a mega restart and was on his tail into T1 to put him under pressure.

“A good race and a good way to finish it, but we’ve got some work to do to try and win this thing.

“Full send from here.”

Sunday afternoon’s feature race began in the dry with Slater on pole position and Ugochukwu alongside him.

There was drama immediately as Kiwi Motorsport’s Cooper Shipman ran wide out of Turn 1 and skated over the gravel trap.

Just moments later, M2 driver Ernesto Rovera went off at Turn 2 and buried his car in the gravel trap to bring out the first Safety Car.

Racing resumed on Lap 7 with Slater ahead of Ugochukwu, Louis Sharp, Jin Nakamura, and Yuanpu Cui.

Slater looked to have control of the race with a one-second lead over Ugochukwu, until Lap 16 when the American used push-to-pass to round up the Brit into Turn 1.

After repeated mistakes at the Brickyard, Slater was forced to defend second place from Sharp.

Then came a reprieve. Rain began to fall, and on Lap 18 the Safety Car was called for Sebastian Manson crashing out of Turn 4.

The race was red-flagged on Lap 20, which created all sorts of confusion as teams wondered whether they could change from slick to grooved tyres during the stoppage.

Those who hadn’t already made the change were allowed to wheel their cars back into the pits, and the race eventually restarted on Lap 24.

It was at that moment that Ugochukwu made the race-defining mistake entering Turn 1. His car cranked sideways, and off he went into the gravel trap.

Slater slotted into the lead, Sharp into second, and Nakamura third.

To add insult to injury, Ugochukwu went off the road again on the final lap at the final corner.

Results: Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Teretonga, Race 4