Lobb Wins at Hampton Downs

Lobb Wins at Hampton Downs

Christchurch’s Caine Lobb won a hotly contested Round Three of The SsangYong Racing Series, Powered By The BNZ Bank at Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park over the weekend (Jan. 28/29). Early Series point’s leader Lobb, Rowan Shepherd, and current point’s leader Daniel Connor only had a handful of points separating them at the end of another exciting and competitive SsangYong Racing Series round, with the thirty-strong field providing some of the best racing ever seen in the Series.

Auckland’s Daniel Connor was the fastest qualifier in his LDV Vans sponsored #90 Actyon ute, ahead of Rowan Shepherd in his #2NZ Bolt Shop SsangYong, with Whakatane’s Christina Orr-West qualifying third in her Haddock Panelbeating and Spraypainting #55 SsangYong Actyon. Kirk Stoneman qualified fourth ahead of expat Australian Peter Bennett, and Caine Lobb. To again highlight how competitive the Series is, the top 15 in qualifying were covered by just one second!

Championship leader Connor won race one from the pole, with the hot track conditions and the demanding Hampton Downs layout providing different challenges to the previous two rounds at Taupo and Pukekohe. Shepherd finished a close second after a fantastic battle with Connor, followed by Orr-West. The ageless Kirk Stoneman had his best race to date finishing fourth, ahead of Peter Bennett, and Caine Lobb.

The second race lined up in similar hot conditions to race one, with the top ten reversed from their finishing positions from Race 1. Todd Prujean and Ryan Bailey started from the front row, with Connor and Shepherd starting from row five. Bailey got through to the lead early on, but was chased down and passed late in the race by Caine Lobb. Lobb drove a brilliant race to score the victory, holding off a charging Bailey, who bounced back from a tough start to the Series at Pukekohe. Shepherd finished an impressive third from grid nine, ahead of Connor, the ever consistent Matt Gibson, and Joel Herbert who had raced through to sixth from grid twelve.

Shepherd then won another hard fought victory in race three from the front row, after a race long battle with Caine Lobb, making it three different winners from the first three races. Shepherd made a pass stick at turn two after an inside run off the exit of turn one. Lobb finished a close second, ahead of Connor, Peter Bennett, Christina Orr-West, and Matt Gibson.

Caine Lobb then scored his second victory of the weekend in the final race, with Lobb and Shepherd passing each other a couple of times, in arguably one of the best races in SsangYong Racing Series history. Shepherd ended up second, having started from the pole, followed by Orr-West. The top six was completed by Connor, Peter Bennett, and Matt Gibson.

So after four exciting and action packed SsangYong Racing Series races at Hampton Downs, Caine Lobb (583 points) won the round, just four points ahead of Shepherd (579 points), with Championship leader Connor third (531 points). Christina Orr-West (451 points), finished fourth for the round, ahead of Peter Bennett (430 points), and Matt Gibson (408 points). And after three rounds of the 16/17 Series, Connor (1431 points),still leads from Lobb (1350 points), with Shepherd (1269 points) now third overall. Orr-West is fourth (1194 points), ahead of Gibson (1157 points), and Royce Rollinson (881 points).

Next up for the SsangYong Racing Series is Round Four, back at The Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park in Taupo on February 4/5 2017, featuring as one of many classes supporting the penultimate round of the Toyota Racing Series , where another full field of SsangYong Actyon Utes are expected.