Wellington driver Brock Cooley put in another extremely impressive showing during Round 2 of the BNT NZ Touring Car Series, the major support category to the V8 Supercars at the ITM 500 at Pukekohe Park Raceway, south of Auckland this weekend.
Cooley qualified second fastest in the Speedy Signs Falcon, behind championship leader and defending champion Kevin Williams of Manukau City, before chasing Williams home in the first race on Saturday afternoon to finish second despite a power steering hose failure during the race.
He was again second to Williams in the Sunday morning race before looking odds on to win the third and final race after leaping into the lead at the start and building a healthy lead over his major rival. Cooley held a six second lead with just four laps remaining when a fuel pump failed, ending his race prematurely. It was a disappointment for the team but Cooley was upbeat after the weekend thanking his crew for a faultless effort and his many sponsors for their invaluable support.
Retirement from the finale cost Cooley valuable points as he dropped from a potential second place overall for the round to fifth. However Cooley continues to shine in the series after taking a debut race win at the opening round at Taupo last month and still sits a very close third in the overall point standings.
Brock Cooley Motorsport is based in Lower Hutt and the Speedy Signs Falcon carries support this season from Speedy Signs and Lower Hutt based Stevens Ford & Mazda Ltd along with longtime supporters Gaskin Ford & Mazda, Macbilt Engineering, Ashton Panel & Paint, Duncan Partition Installations, BC Contracting and EmbroidMe.
This is Cooley’s third season in the TL Class of the Championship. He finished fourth in the 2013/2014 championship to secure the Rookie Of The Year title and eighth last season despite electing to miss the two South Island rounds. Prior to that Cooley was the NZGT Champion in the IRC Racing Categories.
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