Thomas Boniface has stolen pole position from Kaleb Ngatoa for the third round of the MSNZ ITM Formula Ford Championship at Teretonga Park.
In the dying stages of the session, the times tumbled as the damp track dried out. Almost every driver had a turn at the top of the timesheets, but it was Ngatoa who looked to have the goods at the drop of the flag. The Taranaki teen, Boniface, was still finishing his final lap and managed to just eclipse Ngatoa’s time by 0.029s.
The 15-minute qualifying session was interrupted twice by two red flags in quick succession early on. First Ngatoa got stranded in the gravel at the final corner. Once the session was restarted, Blake Evans ran off at turn one prompting another red flag. Whilst both drivers were able to continue qualifying once the session was finally restarted, they will receive a three-place grid penalty for the opening race of the weekend.
Callum Crawley will be promoted to second-place ahead of Zac Stitchbury and Billy Frazer in third and fourth respectively. Ngatoa will start fifth.
Championship leader James Penrose appeared to struggle, setting only the sixth fastest time, 0.8s off Boniface’s pole time. Ronan Murphy will start seventh ahead of Keith Miller and Blake Evans.
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