Thomas Boniface has taken his maiden ITM NZ Formula Ford Championship race win at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon.
The race began in threatening conditions, but luckily the race was held in dry conditions for its entirety. One casualty was claimed before the race start, with Blake Evans losing drive on the warm-up lap.
Callum Crawley grabbed the lead early on with the familiar battle pack of Boniface, Billy Frazer and James Penrose all in tow.
Kaleb Ngatoa suffered terminal damage on the first lap, as his engine went up in smoke exiting the hairpin. The engine damage forced him to retire from the race and was unable to compete in the remaining race.
Frazer was the next to encounter trouble as he fell off the road in the heat of battle on the second lap. The Pukekohe teen ran straight off at turn six and was unable to rejoin the track to finish the race.
Halfway into the ten-lap affair, Boniface emerged as a real contender for the lead as he dealt blow after blow to Crawley defence. On lap six Boniface was able to finally claim the lead, but Crawley put up a hard fight back for the remainder of the race.
At the drop of the flag, 0.285s separated Boniface from Crawley with Penrose finishing a distant third. Ronan Murphy took fourth place ahead of fellow Hawkes Bay driver Zac Stichbury.
Alex Hawley and Cameron Tanner fought an almighty battle all race long, but it was Hawley who prevailed in the end. Hawley finished sixth with Tanner seventh.