Bryan Walker of Christchurch took his maiden series victory when the first race of the opening round of the 2026/2027 Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Super Series took place at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon in Feilding today. It was an eventful day with plenty of excitement throughout.
Simon Baker of Kapiti had qualified fastest for the race with Walker alongside and James Black of Dunedin third with series rookie, local driver, Finley McQuade fourth. Jesse Gould of Raumati Beach and Alex Canty (Auckland) shared the third row.
From the start Baker and Black settled into a great battle at the front until a Safety Car deployment late in the race after Dalan Price had a spin at the exit of the final turn due to a mechanical fault. Price recovered to limp further along the track before pulling off, activating the Safety Car.
The restart was messy with Baker eventually crossing the line first ahead of Black with Walker third at the flag but the results changed after an inquiry.
Baker received a twenty second penalty, dropping him down the order, while Black was disqualified due to a technical infringement.
That left Walker the winner, his first in the series, with Nigel Edger of Hamilton second and McQuade third on debut. Gould was fourth with Rudi Kronstrom of Auckland fifth and Garrod Brader of Poririua, a returnee to the series, sixth.
Tomorrow competitors face a top ten reverse grid race over 12 laps early in the day followed by a 10-lap race in the afternoon from a starting grid based on points to that stage of the weekend.
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