Overview
- Rookie Ryan Wood took Taupo pole with a 1:23.258 and led all 18 laps of Race 1 to finish 2.5 seconds clear of Ugo Ugochukwu.
- James Wharton started Race 2 from the second row, used push-to-pass to overhaul early leader Kanato Le on lap seven, and won by 3.5 seconds for TJ Speed with HMD’s first series victory.
- Championship leader Ugochukwu climbed from seventh on the reversed grid to third in Race 2, strengthening his early points advantage.
- Penalties proved pivotal, with Freddie Slater dropped from sixth to eighth by a five-second sanction for forcing Zack Scoular off track, and Sebastian Manson serving a five-place grid drop carried over from Hampton Downs, while Kalle Rovanperä recorded a personal-best 10th in Race 2.
- Zack Scoular set the fastest lap in Race 2 to secure pole for Sunday’s Race 3 under the event’s fastest-lap rule.