Cantabrian James Penrose has continued with his unbeaten run of race wins adding another three victories at the fourth round of the 2020/21 South Island Formula 1600 Championship at Teretonga Park, in Invercargill. Now with 12 race wins, he has also led every lap of the season.
“Another perfect round,” commented Penrose. “Couldn’t really be happier with three more wins.”
It wasn’t all straight forward for Penrose (Van Diemen Stealth) with both current champion Jack Noble-Adams and local Ethan Anderson both getting closer.
“Race 2 went really well,” said Noble-Adams (Van Diemen Stealth). “I spent a lot of time on his (Penrose) gearbox and got next to him a few times. I just didn’t have the straight-line speed to pass him at the end of the straight.
“Overall I am pretty happy with the round and still second overall on the points table.”
With the first two races in fine conditions, drivers went to the grid of the final feature race with a dry set-up.
“That was the case for us,” commented Noble-Adams. “Our car was setup to come on later in that race based on a dry setup. Unfortunately, when the start lights went out it started raining.”
It certainly was challenging conditions,” said Penrose. “I experienced the same thing a couple of seasons ago so was confident of where the grip would be during the race.”
After Zac Christensen (Ray GR20) crashed out, the race was red-flagged with the results provisional pending a decision on whether 75% of the full race was completed.
As well as overall points, drivers were also competing in three separate Classes. It was the second consecutive round for the series at Teretonga and on the line was the Begg Trophy, presented to the best performance by a Class 3 (pre 1990) driver over the two events. Local Harry Wilson (Van Diemen RF88) led on points heading into the weekend and did enough to win the trophy for the first time from Noel Atley (Crossle 55F).
Penrose took Class 2 (1990-1999) honours while Auckland’s Kim Crocker (Ray GR14) won Class 1 (post 2000) from rookie Bree Morris (Ray GR17) and Gary Love (Van Diemen RF01). It was Morris’ first outing in the ex-Josh Bethune Ray GR17 chassis finishing all three races in eighth, seventh and sixth places.
It is a short turnaround time for both drivers and teams with the fifth round taking place at Timaru International Raceway in two weeks’ time.
Overall Points Table (Top 15)
1/ James Penrose 908
2/ Jack Noble-Adams 670
3/ Ethan Anderson 657
4/ Zac Christensen 579
5/ Cameron Freeman, 541
6/ Bo Hill* 424
7/ Robert Toshach 369
8/ Daniel Brown* 366
9/ Simon Spencer-Bower 355
10/ Kim Crocker 343
11/ Jacob Douglas 315
12/ Alex Crosbie* 304
13/ Steve Donaldson 272
14/ Harry Wilson* 264
15/ Thomas Flynn* 256
*=Rookie driver
Race 1 (10 Laps)
1/ James Penrose, Van Diemen RF93
2/ Ethan Anderson, Van Diemen RF93
3/ Jack Noble-Adams, Van Diemen RF92 Stealth
4/ Zac Christensen, Ray GR20
5/ Jacob Douglas, VanDiemen RF92
6/ Cameron Freeman, Van Diemen RF92
7/ Kim Crocker, Ray GR14
8/ Bree Morris, Ray GR17
9/ Simon Spencer-Bower, Van Diemen RF93
10/ Daniel Brown, Swift SC96K
11/ Robert Toshach, Swift FB89
12/ Harry Wilson, Van Diemen RF88
13/ Noel Atley, Crossle 55F
14/ Alex Crosbie, Van Diemen RF92
15/ Andy Downs, Van Diemen RF94 Stealth
16/ James Dicey, Spectrum 07 B
17/ Gary Love, Van Dieman RF 01
18/ Steve Heffernan, Van Dieman RF 01
19/ Thomas Flynn, Swift SC92
DNF Bo Hill, Van Diemen RF92
DNF Marc Doran, Van Diemen RF88
DNF Dylan Petch, Mygale SJ12
Race 2 (10 Laps)
1/ James Penrose, Van Diemen RF93
2/ Jack Noble-Adams, Van Diemen RF92 Stealth
3/ Ethan Anderson, Van Diemen RF93
4/ Jacob Douglas, VanDiemen RF92
5/ Cameron Freeman, Van Diemen RF92
6/ Kim Crocker, Ray GR14
7/ Bree Morris, Ray GR17
8/ Marc Doran, Van Diemen RF88
9/ Daniel Brown, Swift SC96K
10/ Bo Hill, Van Diemen RF92
11/ Simon Spencer-Bower, Van Diemen RF93
12/ Thomas Flynn, Swift SC92
13/ Robert Toshach, Swift FB89
14/ Alex Crosbie, Van Diemen RF92
15/ Noel Atley, Crossle 55F
16/ Harry Wilson, Van Diemen RF88
17/ Zac Christensen, Ray GR20
18/ James Dicey, Spectrum 07 B
19/ Andy Downs, Van Diemen RF94 Stealth
20/ Gary Love, Van Dieman RF 01
21/ Steve Heffernan, Van Dieman RF 01
DNS Dylan Petch, Mygale SJ12
Feature Race (12 Laps) – Provisional
1/ James Penrose, Van Diemen RF93
2/ Ethan Anderson, Van Diemen RF93
3/ Cameron Freeman, Van Diemen RF92
4/ Jacob Douglas, VanDiemen RF92
5/ Kim Crocker, Ray GR14
6/ Bree Morris, Ray GR17
7/ Jack Noble-Adams, Van Diemen RF92 Stealth
8/ Marc Doran, Van Diemen RF88
9/ Thomas Flynn, Swift SC92
10/ Daniel Brown, Swift SC96K
11/ Bo Hill, Van Diemen RF92
12/ Simon Spencer-Bower, Van Diemen RF93
13/ Alex Crosbie, Van Diemen RF92
14/ Dylan Petch, Mygale SJ12
15/ Harry Wilson, Van Diemen RF88
16/ Noel Atley, Crossle 55F
17/ Robert Toshach, Swift FB89
18/ James Dicey, Spectrum 07 B
19/ Gary Love, Van Dieman RF 01
DNF Andy Downs, Van Diemen RF94 Stealth
DNF Zac Christensen, Ray GR20
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