Tag Archives: Hampton Downs Motorsport Park

Round 4 saw the hardened drifters return to a revamped Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Fans packed in early as the final day promised to be a battle of control since the judging section is rather limited and that would mean near faultless runs required.

Nico Reid was already the fan favorite and with great reason too after winning back to back in Tauranga and Taupo, with people looking forward to seeing him take a third consecutive win in Auckland. Early battles saw the competition push the limits of their cars with the entrance to the judging section allowing for some extreme angle which would either lock in some high points or send them into the sand pit, either way making for great audience viewing. Stand out performances from Drew Donovan, Nico Reid, Daynom Templeman, David Steedman and Jodie Verhulst saw these drivers make it to final battles with some being there for the first time in a long time. Daynom was driving brilliantly with him over coming Darren Kelly who has been pushing his Skyline from the start and Brad Smith to see him come into contention with Drew Donovan. Drew has been pushing hard all season and has great car control which thankfully saw him into the top 3 battling Daynom for the decider between 2nd and 3rd.

Nico Reid on the other hand drove with one intention and that was clear from him progressing past Tom Marshall and Bruce Tannock. Nico’s battle with Bruce was a deciding moment too with Tannock spinning just moments before Nico lost a wheel on his S15. A quick repair was done and Nico was back out to battle Steedman. Drew squared off a cool and collected Daynom, who, with the help of his 2JZ powered BMW pushed ahead of Drew to clinch a spot in the final battle against the winner from the battle with Nico Reid and David Steedman. Drew received 3rd place which is an amazing achievement along side the fact that fellow team mate and partner Jodie Verhulst claimed 5th which for their team is a huge win and confidence boost.

The final stage was set and the crowed were more than overjoyed at the fact that for the third time this season, Nico Reid was chasing down a number 1 finish. Daynom did not make it easy with the first and second runs being near flawless from both drivers requiring a sudden death drive in which Templeman missed the apex on his lead run into turn one which gave Nico the much deserved win.

Overall it was a brilliant day and while everyone worked hard, Nico and his team sure put in a stellar performance. Looking forward to Round 5 in Christchurch.

Massive thank you to photographer Allysa Carberry for the beautiful work!