Allen Lucks In To Win At Hampton Downs

Cooper Barnes finished just over a second behind after a quiet race for the top three, while Bethune recovered to take the final step of the podium.

There was some consolation for the rapid Right Karts By M2 Competition driver, however, as his third place closed the gap on championship leaders Hayden Bakkerus and Hugo Allan.

At the start it was Justin Allen who got away best and held the lead for much of the first lap until Bethune sped by over the start finish line to begin the second lap.

Hugo Allan – second in the championship – made a good initial getaway but then slowed momentarily and was swamped by the first few cars, settling down into sixth. Crucially for his championship challenge though, he was still ahead of series leader Bakkerus, who sat in eighth.

There was plenty of early action as the drivers hustled for positions but it was quieter amongst the leaders. Barnes had settled into third while Zach Blincoe had made a good getaway to take fourth ahead of Harry Townshend.

Harry’s top five was short-lived though, as Allan found a way by on lap four to get himself back into the leading group and increase the numbers between him and Bakkerus. Mason Potter was proving to be a thorn in the side of Hayden’s progress, going very well in seventh and closing on the cars ahead.

Further back Cameron Hill did very well to recover from significant contact with the wall on the exit of the first turn after he and Thomas Mallard touched during their battle for 17th. Townshend then suffered a setback on the seventh lap when he hit gearbox problems and dropped back to 13th, promoting Potter and Bakkerus to sixth and seventh respectively.

At the front, a patient Bethune increased his lead to almost a second and it looked like there was nothing Allen could do. On the last lap though, Bethune went for a gear which wasn’t there and was quickly passed by both Allen and Barnes.

On the podium Allen acknowledged Bethune had the measure of him, but was delighted to take the race win after a tough month rebuilding the NAPA Autoparts car after it was heavily damaged at the previous round at Highlands. “I’ll take that any day of the week,” he said afterwards. “Huge thanks to the team and all the sponsors and it’s very important to thank them after a race like that. It’s been a tough month to get here to get the car immaculate again and it’s great to get the win. That one’s for all of them.”

Allan cemented a solid recovery after his bad start with fourth, closing the gap on Hayden Bakkerus to just 31 points. Potter bagged one of his best results of the season with fifth after passing Blincoe. Zach was sixth ahead of Bakkerus, Arthur Broughan, then Chris White and Jett Murray to round out the top ten.

2024-2025 Bridgestone GR86 Championship – Round 5 Hampton Downs Race 1

2024-2025 Bridgestone GR86 Championship

Round 01: 22-24 November 2024, Taupo International Motorsport Park

Round 02: 17-19 January 2025, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (International Layout)

Round 03: 31 Jan – 2 February 2025, Teretonga Park, Invercargill

Round 04: 7 – 9 February 2025, Highlands Motorsport Park, 69th New Zealand Grand Prix

Round 05: 21-23 March 2025, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (National Layout)

Round 06: 11-13 April 2025, Taupo International Motorsport Park - Supercars

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