Timaru’s Corban Sprague has won the latest round of the 2024/25 Mazda Pro8 New Zealand series held at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell on Sunday. Series leader Jared Pyke finished second with Bradley Dawson third. Sprague set fastest lap in qualifying and then went on to win three races and finished second in the fourth.
While Sprague won the round, points leader Pyke maximized his position winning one race and finishing second in each of the other three. Sprague has now moved into second overall reducing the gap to Pyke from 72 to 48-points with one round remaining in Christchurch at the end of March.
“It was a pretty successful weekend,” commented Sprague. “We had a pace advantage so kept it smooth in each race as it’s all about the championship fight. It was a matter of being fast but keeping our nose clean.
“I managed to get a good start in the opening race and led from there on. Jared (Pyke) was close behind, so I had to be on my game and not make any mistakes.”
Pyke finished second followed by Ben McConochie, Bradley Dawson, Hamish Dawson and Cory Stewart.
The marble draw Race 2 saw Pyke win from Sprague, McConochie, Stewart and Bradley Dawson.
“The weekend went really well,” said Pyke. “We had really good speed and made some good gains in the first two races. I was stoked to win the marble-draw Race 2.
“The last two races I was hoping to capitalise and make some more gains. However, I lost my power steering so didn’t have the earlier pace for the final two races.”
The reverse-marble draw Race 3 saw Sprague off fourth spot on the grid.
“I again got a really good start and fought hard early and got the lead by the end of the first lap.,” said Sprague. “From there it was a matter of consistent lap times, staying in the groove and taking the win.”
“I lost power steering on the (R3) warm up lap so sat on the grid thinking it would be great to just finish the race,” said Pyke. “I then managed to make up a few positions and got into second finishing behind Corban (Sprague) so was happy with that.”
“For the final race I was able to beat Jared off the line and managed to pull a gap,” said Sprague. “Jared certainly brought it up a level so it was a matter of putting in some good lap times and got the win.”
Heading to the final round at the Euromarque Motorsport Park in Christchurch, 22-23 March 2025, Pyke has runs on the board and a 48-point advantage over Sprague. Bradley Dawson sits firmly in third followed by McConochie and Evans.
“It is a big ask with just four races remaining,” said Sprague. “We’ll give it a crack and my best shot. I’m quite happy to be chasing which I like so it will be game on.”
The Mazda Pro8 New Zealand series acknowledges the support from Kumho Tyres, Disc Brakes Australia, HM Auto Electrical, Silvester V8 Performance, Transform Graphics.
Mazda Pro8 New Zealand Points after 4/5 rounds (Top 15)
1/ Jared Pyke 2007
2/ Corban Sprague 1959
3/ Bradley Dawson 1881
4/ Ben McConochie 1668
5/ Hamish Evans 1647
6/ Jeremy Dawson 1560
7/ Cory Stewart 1377
8/ Kaleb Pateman 1248
9/ Sam Knight 1238
10/ Lincoln Brunton 1128
11/ Jeremy Skeggs 879
12/ Ash Mcconchie 828
13/ Micheal Court 783
14/ Kris Mackie 702
15/ Simon Wheeler 702
Mazda Pro8 New Zealand Team Points
1/ Timaru Racing club (Corban, Kaleb, Linc) 4662
2/ Southern most race team (Brad, Jeremy , Jeremy) 4320
3/ Team BMC (Jared, Ben, Corey, Tom) 4000.5
4/ Team Need for speed (Hamish, Sam K , Michael C) 3656
5/ KAS Racing (Kris, Ash, Simon) 2217
Results
Qualifying
1/ Corban Sprague 01:18.873
2/ Jared Pyke 01:19.999
3/ Ben Mcconochie 01:19.952
4/ Bradley Dawson 01:20.021
5/ Hamish Evans 01:20.058
6/ Sam Knight 01:20.834
7/ Cory Stewart 01:21.044
8/ Jeremy Dawson 01:21.195
9/ Kaleb Pateman 01:21.612
10/ Lincoln Brunton 01:21.937
11/ Ash McConchie 01:22.057
12/ Simon Wheeler 01:23.272
13/ Max Casey 01:23.873
Race 1 (8 laps)
1/ Corban Sprague
2/ Jared Pyke
3/ Ben McConochie
4/ Bradley Dawson
5/ Hamish Evans
6/ Cory Stewart
7/ Jeremy Dawson
8/ Sam Knight
9/ Lincoln Brunton
10/ Kaleb Pateman
11/ Ash McConchie
12/ Max Casey
DNS Simon Wheeler
Race 2 (8 laps)
1/ Jared Pyke
2/ Corban Sprague
3/ Ben McConochie
4/ Cory Stewart
5/ Bradley Dawson
6/ Kaleb Pateman
7/ Sam Knight
8/ Ash McConchie
9/ Lincoln Brunton
10/ Simon Wheeler
11/ Max Casey
DNF Hamish Evans
DNF Jeremy Dawson
Race 3 (8 laps)
1/ Corban Sprague
2/ Jared Pyke
3/ Bradley Dawson
4/ Jeremy Dawson
5/ Ben McConochie
6/ Hamish Evans
7/ Lincoln Brunton
8/ Kaleb Pateman
9/ Cory Stewart
10/ Sam Knight
11/ Ash McConchie
12/ Max Casey
13/ Simon Wheeler
Race 4 (10 laps)
1/ Corban Sprague
2/ Jared Pyke
3/ Bradley Dawson
4/ Hamish Evans
5/ Ben McConochie
6/ Cory Stewart
7/ Lincoln Brunton
8/ Kaleb Pateman
9/ Jeremy Dawson
10/ Sam Knight
11/ Max Casey
12/ Ash McConchie
13/ Simon Wheeler
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