Three from Three for William Bamber in the LG ZM Swift
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Young Wanganui racer William Bamber has surged ahead in the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup with three wins from three starts at the second round of the championship.
Though 2007-08 Castrol Swift Sport Scholarship winner Ben Dallas led off the start of the first race, Bamber was among a group that swamped him and swept past to battle for the lead. Grant Ryan, two-time championship winner, Cody McMaster and Bamber formed a front-running wedge of Suzukis. Bamber then led the race from the second lap but behind him a new name was forging his way through the field.
Former Toyota Racing Series and karting star Hamish Cross - making his first appearance in the championship - clawed his way up from the pursuing pack, holding third place on lap four, second place on lap five and then overtaking Bamber to lead on lap six, posting fastest race lap time of 1:44.457 in the process.
Bamber re-took the lead on the penultimate lap and held it to the chequered flag.
Matt Gibson, the 2009-2010 Castrol scholarship winner, had dropped to 13th in the opening-lap melee, but clawed his way back to tenth. He was elevated to ninth place when the car of former MINI Challenge champion Craig Innes was found to be under weight and he was relegated.
In the second race, Cross was once more the pace-setter, leading for the whole eight lap duration of the race until overtaken on the final lap by Bamber. He dropped two places as Ben Dallas also pounced to be second at flag. Gibson was a competitive fourth overall. Fastest lap went to McMaster with a 1:43.579.
The third race was a 12 lap reverse grid event. The early laps saw Triple X Motorsport driver Scott Harrison hit the lead from fifth at the start. Harrison, recovering from a spectacular rollover at the first round, made the pace in the early laps but Bamber was coming up through the pack. From a start position of 14th, the Wanganui driver carved through the field and overtook Harrison to win. McMaster was hit with a drive-through penalty that dropped him down the race order, while Cross came through to take third.
Gibson was unable to capitalise on the reverse grid format and finished 15th.
