He was invited back to the scene of his TRS triumph to make his debut in the TRS2; as chauffeur /driver for Michael Holland of the TVNZ programme ‘Close Up.’.

Mitch managed to squeeze in a couple of lessons back at St Kentigens on Monday afternoon before heading south again to face the TV cameras.

The 5 minute ‘Close Up’ special about Mitch– including interviews with Owen Evans, Colin Giltrap and Chris Amon – screened on TV1 last Friday night.

The story can now be viewed on the TVNZ On Demand website using the link http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/kiwi-kid-set-tear-up-raceway-3435174/video

It was yet another day away from his Year 11 studies for the 15-year-old St Kentigens schoolboy. But the cheerful Champion was pleased to share his recent experiences and offer advice.

Championship runner up Earl Bamber was also back at Taupo on Tuesday – evaluating several development ideas in advance of the 2011 season on behalf of Toyota – and he took time out from testing to chat with the latest prospects.

Also mingling with the young drivers – offering support and encouragement – was former Grand Prix driver and Toyota Ambassador Chris Amon.

The TRS support engineering team were all back in action – in spite of a hectic final race weekend – with six eager young drivers ready for their introduction to slicks, wings and the state-of-the-art TRS single seater.

Each of the drivers – Matt Williams (Christchurch), Ben Dallas (Auckland), Andrew Vincent (Auckland), Nick Cassidy (Auckland), Aaron Hodgson (Auckland) and Hayden Pederson (Rotorua) – was given several runs in one of the two TRS chassis provided for their first evaluation of a wings and slicks car.

On the Thursday before the Taupo race weekend Damon Leitch (Invercargill) and Matt Penrose (Christchurch) participated in a similar introduction session. These two South Islanders also got to run in the passenger seat of the TRS2 on Saturday with double TRS Champion Daniel Gaunt at the wheel.

During their TRS track test each driver was introduced to the cars running in the TRS Lites configuration; and then several of the more experienced drivers experienced some laps with the full TRS Championship power.

“Finding the next generation of TRS drivers began in earnest on Tuesday,” said TRS Manager Barrie Thomlinson. “We are talking to drivers all year round but a track test allows drivers to fully understand what TRS offers.”

“New Zealand manages to produce wave after wave of exciting young racing talent and we are pleased to evaluate the newcomers.”

During the next few months Thomlinson and his TRS Team will work closely with drivers as they pursue sponsorship to compete in the 2011 series.

“It just seems to get better each year. All these drivers are keen to step up into TRS and we are here to advise and guide them and their parents as they develop plans with sponsors and teams.”

“It is very encouraging for the future, particularly as several are already saying they want to begin in TRS Lites – just as Mitch Evans did in 2009 at Manfeild and Hampton Downs”

“Young drivers from karting and the junior single seater classes can now see the importance of planning a pathway for their future”

“The European success of Brendon Hartley – our very first TRS winner – is now being reinforced with recognition that many of our past and present drivers including Mitch Evans are receiving; and it was a real endorsement of TRS to have Earl returning to the series this year.”

Twice during the enthralling 10 lap race the 15-year-old was forced out of the third place he needed to become the youngest ever winner of New Zealand’s premier single seater tile.

His rival, 19-year-old Earl Bamber from Wanganui was leading the race and used clever tactics to put pressure on young Evans.

Not only did Bamber need to win his third race of the weekend to steal the title, he needed Evans lower than third.

The final result was in doubt until the very end. Bamber was protected by his team mate Stefan Webling (Taranaki) running in second place but could see that Evans was under threat.

So Bamber backed off, closing up the leading bunch of five cars and putting pressure on Evans. It worked twice as Sam MacNeill from Palmerston North took the opportunity to hustle ahead of Evans.

However, the youngster wasn’t flustered and each time he fought back into the third place he desperately needed.

It wasn’t until the dying moments that Evans’ own team mate Daniel Jilesen muscled his way into fourth place where he was able to act as the ‘rear gunner’.

This dramatic sequence of events meant that, in spite of winning six races Bamber was beaten to the title by just 3pts after 15 gruelling races. He had gone into the weekend 34 pts behind Evans.

For Evans – winner of three races during the season – it was a tough test of his nerves. “I was just relieved to see the chequered flag’ declared the jubilant new TRS Champion.

For Bamber who made a storming finish to the season after a sluggish start, it meant he had won all four of the last races including the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild.

He took the lead on the third lap of the’ reverse top six’ grid final race that had the two protagonists starting side by side on the third row.

Bamber and Evans had finished 1-2 in the two Taupo races leading up to the gripping final confrontation.

Bamber claimed fastest lap in the finale but was ultimately thwarted in his late charge towards the coveted title, the $10,000 prizemoney and a European test drive.

Bamber won the third Taupo race by just 0.5s from Webling which was a 1-2 result for the Triple X Motorsport Team. Evans crossed the line 1.5s further back with his team mate Jileson in tow to ensure he wasn’t threatened from behind.

After holding the critical third position and dicing with Evans in thefrantic scramble as the leaders were backed up,  Sam MacNeill (Palmerston North) tangled with Jileson and damaged the nose while Andrew Waite (Auckland) was also involved in the cut and thrust.

It was 16 year-old Jamie McNee that came through to take fifth place ahead of Waite with MacNeill dropping down to seventh. The only retirement was Alastair Wootten who lead for two laps from pole position before running wide into a gravel trap.

The final points for the season saw Evans on 915pts, Bamber on 912pts, Andrew Waite third overall on 762pts. In spite of only competing in the four International rounds the Estonian driver Sten Pentrus retained fourth overall on  660pts. Fifth was Jilesen on  643pts and sixth was Wootten on 623pts.

Giles Motorsport claimed the Team Championship with 1558pts from Triple X Motorsport with 1518pts and ETEC Motorsport with 1499pts.

The Aucklander had the best chauffeur possible, double TRS Champion Daniel Gaunt.

Shaun and his partner Lisa were guests of Toyota and he was happy to share tales of his dramatic 50 days at sea with guests over lunch.

For the warm-up and pace laps of the Saturday 15 lapper he was strapped in behind Gaunt for his first taste of motorsport.

“This is just awesome,” he declared after his switch from battling the elements to fighting G-forces in the confines of the two seater.

Incidentally, Daniel Gaunt – the most winning driver in TRS during the last six seasons – is now under threat for the top spot.

Earl Bamber’s win in the Saturday race was his 15th in TRS, drawing him level with Andy Knight in the all-time standings.

Daniel Gaunt has won 20 TRS races including the Lady Wigram Trophy and the New Zealand Grand Prix on his way to back-to-back titles.

Considering Sunday’s Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy will be the 120th TRS race since the series began in 2005, that is an impressive win rate.

Bamber started from pole position, narrowly fended off a first corner challenge from Evans and then controlled the gap thoughout the 12 laps to win by 0.6s from his younger rival.

It was Bamber’s fourth win of the season and brought the 19-year-old from Wanganui within 26pts of Evans who has won three races this year – but none of the last six.

In contrast, Bamber’s victory at Taupo today came straight on top of his win in the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild. It was Bamber’s 14th win in TRS since 2007 and reduced his deficit to Evans by 8pts.

However, Evans’ consistency throughout the season may well pay off in the two races that complete the season tomorrow.

After today’s 13th race of the 2010 season Evans has 788pts while Bamber is now on 762pts – a gap of just 26pts.

The maximum points available on Sunday is 150 for two race wins however the points difference between first and second place in New Zealand’s premier single seater series is just 8pts; while the difference between second and third is just 7pts.

No other driver is still in contention for the coveted title so Evans could take the TRS title by finishing second to his rival in both tomorrow’s races.

Upsetting that calculation could well be the starting format for tomorrow’s final race. The finishing order in the 20-lap Denny Hulme Memorial Race in the morning will determine the grid for the 16th and final race of the season – where the top six line up in reverse order.

Today’s opening race at Taupo was all down to the start. Bamber had upstaged Evans during the morning qualifying, setting a stunning pole time that denied Evans the top spot for the first time all season.

Evans, starting from the outside of the front row (on the grid that arguably gives a better line into the first left handed sweeper) looked to have got away better, until Bamber quickly recovered.

“It wasn’t a good start for me,” said Bamber. “ I was worried about creeping forwards and then had to raise the revs to get off the line. Mitch came across hard but it was fair”

Bamber had to put a wheel into the dust on the inside line but held his nerve and took the corner in a typically well-judged move.

“Mitch kept the pressure up but I was trying to conserve my tyres for the Sunday races. The balance wasn’t quite as good as it had been in qualifying – I wasn’t as fast as Mitch -but I knew I had enough to win.”

Having lost the start, Evans kept up the pressure all the way, the gap fluctuating between two and five car lengths. At half distance he out braked himself and went too deep into the tight chicane at the end of the long straight. After that he settled for a safe second.

I didn’t need to pass him and I wasn’t going to do anything stupid.”

Evans and Bamber both bettered the old lap record, Evans taking it down to 1m 24.58s on his penultimate lap. That was nearly half a second under the 2008 TRS lap record.

Behind the two title contenders, Sam MacNeill ( Palmerston North) ran a solid third but was 8.8s behind. Jamie McNee (Wellington) scored his best result of the season with a steady fourth. Andrew Waite (Auckland finished fifth, mindful of maintaining his third placing in the overall series.

Alastair Wootten (Whangaparoa) was sixth while Stefan Webling (Taranaki) completed the finishers, in spite of bending a steering arm when he rode over a kerb. The only retirement was Daniel Jileson (Taumaranui) who stopped on the warm up lap with gear box problems. He rejoined at the back of the field only to retire with more gearbox issues after 7 laps.

With Bamber winning today’s race and Jilesen not finishing, the Team Championship now has just one point separating Giles Motorsport (1317pts) and ETEC (1316pts) with Triple X Motorsport third on 1252pts.

The experience of the 19-year-old from Wanganui showed as he dominated the 20 minute qualifying session in the very dying moments.

Two laps from the flag the former A1GP Team NZ driver put in a 1m23.89s lap that was a full second under the TRS lap record; and on his final lap Bamber slipped in a 1m 24.0s lap that would also have secured him pole.

Evans, the 15-year-old Auckland school boy who has set the pace and been fastest in qualifying at all four of the previous TRS rounds, was beaten by 0.37s.

The younger of the two talented teenagers set his 1m 24.26s on only his third lap and wasn’t able to respond to Bamber’s late charge.

“I decided to wait at the start of the session and then, when I first went for it, there was a yellow flag,” said Bamber.

“That was just when my tyres were coming right but I felt it was on to get into the 23’s.”

After a quick pit stop, the Triple X Motorsport driver showed the blistering speed that has taken him to 14 previous TRS race wins.

“It bodes well for the race…” he declared.

While Evans was denied pole position for the first time all season, he was still pleased to be on the front row and quicker than he been in Friday testing.

During the two 30 minute Friday practice sessions Evans snatched fastest time of 1m 24.604s on the last lap to take a slender 0.08s psychological advantage over Bamber.

Third in qualifying today after a fine effort was Sam MacNeill from Palmerston North with a 1m 24.62s lap while Stefan Webling from Taranaki recovered after a spin to recorded a 1m 24.75s time on his last lap to be fourth fastest.

The fastest four drivers were all under the 1m 24.92s TRS lap record set by Dominic Storey in 2008.

Evans’ team mate Daniel Jilesen from Taumaranui will line up fifth on today’s grid with a time of 1m 25.09s.

Alongside him after being frustrated by a broken stay on the rear tyre deflector will be Andrew Waite on 1m 25.12s.

Rounding out the small but very competitive field – two seconds covering the grid on this 3.5km central North Island circuit – will be Jamie McNee from Wellington (1m 25.36s) and Alastair Wootten from Whangaparoa (1m 25.89s).

The 12-lap Saturday race is scheduled to start at 15.35. Leading the field away on the warm-up lap will be trans-Tasman solo rower Shaun Quincey who will be taking a back seat role in the Toyota Racing Series 2-seater being driven by double TRS Champion Daniel Gaunt.

Two of New Zealand’s best young racing drivers go head-to-head for the 2010 Toyota Racing Series title at the Taupo International circuit next weekend (March 20-21) – and both teenagers believe they have a competitive edge.

The most hard-fought TRS title in six seasons is tantalisingly tight at the top going into the Taupo finale.  After 12 races, honours are almost evenly divided between 15-year-old Mitch Evans from Auckland and 19-year-old Earl Bamber from Wanganui.

Evans will be fighting to maintain a slim points advantage while Bamber – the former A1GP Team New Zealand driver – is determined to seize an unexpected opportunity to revive his promising career in Europe.

Evans, a St Kentigens schoolboy who has never even been to Europe, admits he’s endured an “up and down season” but says he’s learnt what it will take to win the title.

“I’ve shown good pace but there have been a few dramas that have cost me good results. I’ve learnt heaps in TRS but the main lesson is that you can’t win every race. This weekend I need to be ahead or right behind Earl in all three races – and make sure I don’t make any mistakes,” said Evans.

However, Bamber says that after a sluggish start to the season he will be aiming to win all three races. It wasn’t until after winning the last race – the NZGP at Manfeild – his doctor diagnosed that he has been suffering from glandular fever since the opening races at Teretonga.

“Mitch has been doing a good job and has been on pole at every race while my new team has been getting the performance of our car sorted. At Taupo we need to be quick from the outset,” said Bamber.

Both the ambitious teens have won three races during a tense season. Evans clinched the International Trophy title (contested over the four International rounds in January and February) at their most recent confrontation at Manfeild; but Bamber upstaged him in a dramatic late charge to snatch the coveted New Zealand Grand Prix win.

Evans wrapped up the 2010 TRS Rookie title at Manfeild but, for the first time all season; came away without a win during the weekend. In contrast the more experienced Bamber made his debut in New Zealand’s premier single seater series in 2007, finished second in the 2008 series and with his Grand Prix win at Manfeild this season now has his 14 races wins in TRS.

After four previous rounds they are split by just 34pts – less than the points offered for a tenth placing – and both are anxious to take the $10,000 winner’s prize, the coveted TRS title and a valuable European test drive that is being offered to the 2010 Champion.

The October test will be similar to the opportunity grasped by Brendon Hartley in 2005, a one-off European test that launched the Palmerston North driver into a six year Red Bull contract and his 2010 role as Reserve Driver for both the Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso teams in Formula 1.

There are a possible 225pts available if any driver can win all three Taupo races – a feat not achieved by anyone at any previous round in 2010. The racing has been too close for that level of domination and the 2010 title chase is very likely to go all the way to the final ‘reverse six’ Sunday race at Taupo.

After his slow start with a new team, Bamber had a strong midseason as his new Triple X Motorsport team has steadily gained speed and confidence with engineering guidance from Mark Pilcher and more recently Phillip di Fazio.

“I’m feeling a lot more confident because we have developed our setup and have found more pace. I started alongside Mitch on the front row for the first time at Manfeild – before that I think our best qualifying was sixth on the grid,” said Bamber.

“I’ve moved forward 30 places in the races over the season, so I’ve done a lot of passing.”

In contrast, and in spite of setting a stunning pole position in every qualifying to date, Evans has been developing  the race craft needed to compliment his stunning speed.

“We’ve got good pace so I just need to make sure we get good results.”

In what could be a telling factor, Evans has won three out of four Saturday races to date while Bamber has taken each of his well-judged wins in one of the two Sunday races. That fact alone could be ominous this weekend when three consistent race finishes could count for more than outright speed.

“It’s time to break that bad habit…” said Evans.

The title contenders share another statistic – they both won their most recent Championship rounds at Taupo – Evans in Formula Ford last season and Bamber in TRS in 2008. They’ve also suffered the bitter disappointment of losing a Championship title at the final round  – Evans lost out Richie Stanaway in last year’s FF series while Bamber was beaten to the TRS title by Andy Knight two years ago.

The points permutations for Taupo mean Andrew Waite from Auckland is an outside contender after his two wins, while Daniel Jileson from Taumaranui is also within the mathematical prospect. After competing in just two rounds, Tauranga’s Richie Stanaway rounds out the Top Ten after one fine win.

Estonian driver Sten Pentus –who claimed two race wins to be third in the points – and Brazilian Lucas Foresti -who won a single race and lies fifth, are now back in Europe; which means there will be a scramble for third outright. Expect good performances from steady improvers like Jamie McNee, Alastair Wootten and Stefan Webling.

Sam MacNeill is a late addition to the Taupo line-up, the 25-year-old from Palmerston North driving for the ETEC team. The 2007 Formula Ford Champion finished runner-up to Mitch Cunningham in the 2009 TRS season. In his only previous race in 2010 he ran strongly at Manfeild, coming through from tenth to fourth in the wet Saturday race and then finished third in the reverse grid race.

The 2010 Team’s title race reflects the close fight for the driver’s title. Giles Motorsport, the Top Team in 2009, is under threat from Trevor Sheumack’s ETEC team and the emerging Triple X Motorsport team.

With six different race winners from the 12 races to date and some of the best TRS racing yet seen, there is the prospect of three enthralling races at Taupo; and the very real possibility of a ‘come-from-behind’ Champion from the 15^th and final race of the season.

Footnote:

The third and final race at Taupo on Sunday will the 121^st since the Toyota Racing Series began in 2005. There have been 24 different race winners to date

Earl Bamber currently sits third in the all time TRS Winner stakes with his 14 wins. He has competed in TRS since the 2007 season but only contested one race in 2009.

Andy Knight, who pipped Bamber for the 2008 title has scored 15 race wins, so could be overtaken at Taupo. Daniel Gaunt tops the winner’s table with 20 wins

2010 TRS Championship (5 rounds)

TOP TEN points up to Taupo finale

1. Mitch Evans (R)                 Giles Motorsport             721pts
2. Earl Bamber                        Triple X Motorsport        687pts
3. Sten Pentus                       Giles Motorsport 2          660pts
4. Andrew Waite                   ETEC Motorsport              626pts
5. Lucas Foresti                      Giles Motorsport 2          536pts
6. Daniel Jileson                     Giles Motorsport             529pts
7. Alastair Wooten               Dart International            494pts
8. Stefan Webling (R)          Triple X Motorsport        448pts
9. Jamie McNee (R)             Neale Motorsport           369pts
10. Richie Stanaway               ETEC Motorsport              362pts

(R signifies a TRS Rookie driver)

TOP TEN points per race:

1^st =75, 2^nd = 67, 3^rd = 60, 4^th = 54, 5^th= 49, 6^th = 45, 7^th = 42, 8^th = 39, 9^th = 36, 10^th = 33.

Bamber, 21, went wheel to wheel with pole man Mitch Evans and pursued him throughout the first 28 laps of the race. He had slowly closed the gap but was never confident of overtaking the Auckland youngster.

“I was hunting him down but the race was close to ending and I didn’t think we’d have got it in the remaining laps.”

Instead, when Oakura driver Stefan Webling went off at Dunlop, Bamber was able to close the gap during the resulting safety car period while Webling’s car was recovered.

A lap later, Bamber pounced as the safety car returned to pit lane.

“I lined him up and the guys were on the radio from pit lane saying ‘get on that gearbox, get in close, go now!’ I went alongside at the end of the straight and Mitch was slow into the corner so we were side by side, we touched wheels briefly and then I was through, got the gap and went for the win,” he said.

Bamber said for the next five laps he was concentrating on his cornering lines and braking points and watching Evans in the mirror.

“I was counting down those final laps, wishing the race was just one more lap, not five, but it all came out perfectly at the end.”

Bamber said the Grand Prix win was “so special”.

“I think this is the greatest win of my race career so far. Now bring on Taupo and the Championship title!”

His win of the 55th New Zealand Grand Prix also nets him a cheque for $10,000 from Toyota New Zealand.

The winner of the Manfeild round, Tauranga’s Richie Stanaway, also becomes the inaugural winner of the Dorothy Smith Memorial Cup, a trophy donated by the famous motor racing family in memory of racer Ken Smith’s mother Dorothy who passed away during the Manfeild race weekend in 2009.

Though Bamber took the prestigious Grand Prix title, Evans could take solace from second place, valuable points adding to his Championship title pursuit. He also won the four round international component of the Toyota Racing Series and takes home a cheque for $5,000 and a Tissot watch.

Pentus holds the new TRS and outright lap record for Manfeild, a 1:03.801 set in race two today.

The final round of the 2009-2010 Toyota Racing Series takes place at the Taupo race track March 19-21.

-End-
Results, 2010 New Zealand Grand Prix
Earl Bamber, Wanganui, 1
Mitch Evans, Auckland, 2
Sten Pentus, Estonia, 3
Richie Stanaway, Tauranga, 4
Daniel Jileson, Taumarunui, 5
Jamie McNee, Wellington, 6
Sam MacNeill, Palmerston North, 7
Andrew Eaite, Auckland, 8
Alastair Wootten, Auckland, 9
Ken Smith, Manurewa, 10
Stefan Webling, Oakura, 11

Did not finish: Lucas Foresti, Brazil, 1 lap

Points after four rounds of the 2010 Toyota Racing Series Mitch Evans 721 Earl Bamber 687 Sten Pentus 660 Andrew Waite 626 Lucas Foresti 536 Daniel Jileson 529 Alistair Wootten 494 Stefan Webling 448 Jamie McNee 369 Richie Stanaway 362 Nathan Morcom 219 Ken Smith 214 Sam MacNeill 156 Andy Knight 78 Chris Wootton 66

Aucklander Andrew Waite made sure of victory in race two for the Toyota Racing Series this morning at Manfeild.

His win was almost an exact duplicate of his race two performance at Hampton Downs a week ago. There, Waite found himself on pole as a result of the top six reverse grid format, and led from flag to flag.

This time was slightly more challenging. The blond Aucklander was on the outside of the front row alongside pole man Lucas Foresti of Brazil.

At race start, he judged his launch perfectly to put the Tyre Plus Toyota ahead of Foresti and then moved cleanly across going into the first right hand corner.

Sam MacNeill started from second row on the grid, right behind Foresti, and moved through to hold second place, demoting the Brazilian to third where he came under attack from Daniel Jileson who had made a blinding start from row four of the grid alongside Mitch Evans.

By the third lap, Waite had a two second lead over local driver MacNeill.

Estonian Sten Pentus shared the Championship points lead with Aucklander Mitch Evans going into the race, and had moved up to shadow Foresti.

In Dunlop, the long right hand corner that leads onto the start finish straight, the two cars came together and both international drivers went off the track. Pentus rejoined without his front wing, while Foresti’s car was bellied in the gravel trap.

The incident brought out the safety car, bunching up the field behind waite and wiping out his early lead.

The leading group, Waite, MacNeill, Daniel jileson, Richie Stanaway and Mitch Evans, stayed close together as the safety car re-entered pit lane and racing resumed.

Wanganui’s Earl Bamber, third on points in the Championship, was also looking to move up the standings. He got a run on Evans in the infield turns, drew alongside down the back straight and then made a clean outbraking pass going into Dunlop.

Tauranga’s Richie Stanaway had moved through to third, putting Daniel Jileson next in line for Bamber.

A racing incident between Bamber and Jilesen resulted in Jilesen spinning broadside off the track at high speed. The damage to Bamber’s car included a flattened front wing end plate, forcing the Wanganui driver to slow and putting an end to his charge through the field.

Jileson regained the track in last place.

Webling sliped past Bamber  but then pulled across on Bamber on the front straight heading into turn 1 and as a result received a drive through penalty and a further 50 second penalty for not completing the drive through before the chequered flag.

The front three remained unchallenged. Waite had pulled out a 1.5 second lead again, while Stanaway moved past MacNeill to be second.

Mitch Evans overtook Bamber, making the most of the latter’s damaged car to take a strategically important track position.

The following lap, desperate to re-take position, Bamber found himself on the grass on the front straight, part of a three-wide fight for the advantage at Toyota corner with Jamie McNee and Evans.

Sten Pentus, who had received a drive-through penalty for his tangle with Foresti was later excluded from the race.

Pentus had the consolation of setting a new TRS and outright lap record of
1:03.801 at an average speed of 140.441 km/h.

The weekend’s feature race, the 35 lap New Zealand Grand Prix, starts at 2.20 pm this afternoon with Mitch Evans on pole and Earl Bamber alongside him. By 3.00 pm the newest name to be inscribed on this historic trophy will be known.

-End-

A wet track and wheelspin off the line ruined Auckland schoolboy racer Mitch Evans’ perfect weekend as the Dan Higgins Trophy race got under way this afternoon at Manfeild near Palmerston North.

Evans had qualified on pole for the race, but Earl Bamber had the better start and swept into the lead with Estonian driver Sten Pentus snatching second and forcing Evans back to third heading into the first corner.

Columns of spray whipped up by the cars’ heavily treaded wet tyres meant most of the field entered the corner driving “blind” behind the first two cars.

Evans had no answer to the speed of Pentus and Bamber in front of him as the field headed into the second lap. Daniel Jilesen speared off the track at Higgins, the right hand corner that leads onto the back straight, but was able to recover and continue.

Then on the next lap Evans lost grip on the exit of Toyota, spun sideways and stalled broadside across the track. He rejoined in last place. In the same lap, Pentus went off at Higgins, recovering one place down.

Bamber retained the lead and had pulled slightly clear of the pack when Jamie McNee went off at the same part of the Higgins corner that had already claimed Pentus and Jilesen. He was not able to regain the track, bringing the safety car out while marshals extracted his car from the gravel trap.

As the safety car left the track, Bamber found himself under attack from Pentus, Stefan Webling and Richie Stanaway.

He held the lead down the front straight, through Toyota and the infield “esses”, then left the track at Higgins.

Webling took the lead ahead of Stanaway and Pentus, but the safety car was sent out again and slowed the field once more. A lap later, it was Webling’s turn to feel the pressure of the pack behind him, and he went off at Toyota, handing Richie Stanaway the lead.

Stanaway stretched out a two second lead over second-placed Sten Pentus and Alistair Wootten.

Andrew Waite followed in fourth place; with local driver Sam MacNeill fifth.

Wootton, Waite and MacNeill had all benefited from the series of off-track excursions that played out in front of them, and made no similar mistakes as the race progressed.

Stanaway held on for the race win with Pentus second, Wootten third, Sam MacNeill fourth and a recovering Earl Bamber fifth.

The Dan Higgins Trophy is named after the founder of the earthmoving company, a long-time supporter of Manfeild. It carries a prize purse across the top finishers of $5,000.
First awarded in 1975, it has been part of the Toyota Racing Series since the series began.

The first driver to win the Dan Higgins Trophy, in 1975, was Brett Riley.
Other famous names on the trophy include Scott Dixon, Brady Kennett, and current Red Bull/Toro Rosso Formula One reserve driver Brendon Hartley who has won the trophy twice, in 2003 and 2006.

Current TRS competitor Ken Smith won the trophy in 1994 and 1995 and is the only former holder of the trophy racing this weekend.

On Sunday, the on-track action starts at 11.40 with a 12 lap race, followed in the afternoon at 2.20 pm by the New Zealand Grand Prix. By 3.00 pm the newest name to be inscribed on this historic trophy will be known.