Season 27 Tasman Series Report - Round 1 Levin NZ

The opening race of season 27 was held on the North Island of New Zealand at the Levin under blue skies. At the end of the qualifying session Leon following his dominance of the earlier practice sessions claimed pole with a lap record 44.161 in the Ferrari 246 Dino, Craig L lined up in P2 setting a pb in the Lotus 33 Climax just a tenth behind Leon. John LeMasurier showed good speed in his first series start to slot his Brabham BRM powered BT11 into P3, Göran lined up in P4 in a sister chassis. Craig Burns in his return to competition recorded 5th fastest time in a Climax powered BT11, Matt Judson rounded out the top 6 in a BRM P261 just over a second off the pole time. A total of 12 drivers qualified for the race, with several notable no shows from those expected in the entrants list.

Leon made the most of the front row start to lead the field into Lake Bend, he and Craig L had a fine battle for the first 11 laps until Craig tapped the Ferrari under brakes for the Hairpin which saw Göran inherit the lead, it only took Leon a couple of laps to reel in Göran and make the pass for the lead by going around the outside at Lake Bend. Leon then continued to lead until lap 18 when he spun by himself at the hairpin and allowed Göran back by. Again within 4 laps he had chased the gap to Göran down and successfully completed the pass to regain the lead, which he was not to lose taking the win by 2 seconds.  Following their lap 11 clash Craig L made a couple of further mistakes on lap 13 which allowed Craig B to move into 3rd, they ran nose to tail for several laps until Craig B made a small mistake and ran wide at Beach Bend, this was all it took for Craig L to move by back into third. He then set about chasing down the gap to Leon and Göran on lap 25 Göran spun at the hairpin and allowed Craig by into second, despite wringing the neck of the Lotus he was unable to improve position, applying plenty of pressure to Leon but ultimately the one to crack and run slightly wide at Hokio Bend with a couple of laps to go. He did finish with Fast Lap honours though with a 44.308 second lap.

Göran rounded out the top 3 and the only other driver to finish on the lead lap, he put in the most consistent drive of any of his competitors and was amply rewarded at the finish. The Brabham seeming to lack the outright power of the Ferrari, however Göran showed great race craft to judge his passes well and complete the race and be the only other drive to lead laps at this tight and demanding circuit. Craig Burns finished 4th with a strong effort on his return to competition, running in third at one stage of the race, he plans to build upon this effort when the series heads to his home circuit at Surfers Paradise for Round 2.   Matt Judson rounded out the top 5 surviving the tumultous early laps to move into fifth on lap 6 and then holding this position until Rolf displaced him on lap 43 when he spun the BRM at the Hairpin, however the penultimate lap was costly for Rolf and a strong result was lost when he ran wide at Castrol Curve and beached the Ferrari on the banking losing several positions before he could safely rejoin the circuit. This allowed Matt back by, and Simon benefitted from this also claiming 6th overall. Rolf claimed 7th position, John finished 8th and was disappointed following his strong qualifying effort, a costly spin exiting Beach Bend on the first lap, and then a few incidents at the Hairpin cost a better result, he is another competitor looking to rebound next week at Surfers Paradise. Pete rounded out those that finished the race distance in the Brabham, Shawn, Roberto, and Sean all experiencing technical difficulties that resulted in them retiring from the race.

The field heads back across the Tasman for Round 2 at the Surfers Paradise circuit in Queensland, home circuit to both David French and Craig Burns. Its hoped also that Mike will make an appearance to bolster the numbers for Lotus, in a season that has a good spread of cars and a good combination of circuits that will favour each of the chassis at various times. Can Leon make it 2 from 2?? Practice as usual on Thursday night from 8pm with qualifying and race on Sunday night, hope to see you all there.