US young driver Spike Kohlbecker is ready to take his first win of the New Zealand Formula 1600 Championship as it heads to Invercargill this weekend. It’s the halfway point of the five-round series where drivers can make important gains or rapidly go backwards in their title bid.
Kohlbecker impressed at last weekend’s round in Christchurch with two podiums and a fourth placing on his NZ racing debut. His second place in the feature Wigram Cup race showed he was ready to take the next step up to the top of the podium having pressured eventual winner and overall points leader Josh Bethune all the way to the chequered flag.
There have been just three winners in the NZ title fight with Josh Bethune (3 wins), Jordan Michels (2 wins) and rookie James Penrose (1 win) sharing the spoils. As well as Kohlbecker, other drivers looking for that win include Ben Stiles from the UK, Zac Stichbury from Hawke’s Bay and Christchurch’s Bailey Paterson who suffered engine problems last weekend at Ruapuna.
Behind them are another handful of drivers willing to get a podium finish. Canterbury’s Jack Noble-Adams, Cameron Freeman and rookie Callum Crawley continue to compete for top five finishes. Crawley was also impressive debuting his new Spectrum 015 last weekend.
Over 20 cars are expected to take to the grid at Teretonga Park with three races over the weekend. The round also doubles as the fifth and penultimate of the fiercely competitive South Island Formula 1600 Championship.
NZ F1600 Championship Overall Points 2/5 rounds (top 15)
1 Josh Bethune 214
2 James Penrose 208
3 Jordan Michels 201
4 Ben Stiles 128
5 Zac Stichbury 127
6 Callum Crawley 119
7 Cameron Freeman 108
8 Jack Noble-Adams 107
9 Robert Toshach 104
10 Luke Kohlbecker 94
11 Simon Spencer-Bower 73
12 Steve Edwards 70
13 Ethan Anderson 68
14 Noel Atley 66
15 Andy Downs 57
SI F1600 Championship Overall Points 4/6 rounds (Top 10)
1 Josh Bethune 448
2 Jordan Michels 375
3 James Penrose 341
4 Jack Noble-Adams 257
5 Cameron Freeman 248
5 Ben Stiles 220
7 Zac Stichbury 209
8 Bailey Paterson 186
9 Robert Toshach 182
10 Steve Edwards 167
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