Another great spectacle unfolded today in both Races as the ENZED V8 UTES did the bad laps at Ruapuna.
The Mark Cromie Holden driven by Ginga Ninja Caine Lobb who won both the Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday had to start from the rear of the grid in race 2 due to the reverse format. Alongside was Dangerous Dayne Running while current series leader Phantom (Lockwood) was a row ahead but still in 14th. This is the joy that comes from marble draw racing.
The man who started race 1 at the back of the grid was local favourite Junior (Simon Beirne) and now he had the joy of being on pole with Huggi (James Urquhart) beside him.
From the green light the Ginja Ninja (Lobb) and the Phantom (Lockwood) pounced on the unsuspecting field. Ginja got room up the middle and was soon in fifth and Phantom went down the outside and had grabbed 10 places on the big sweeper. From there it was all about the speedsters as Junior pulled away while the Phantom and Ginja battled it out amongst themselves. Bomba (Mack Peach) had secured 4th spot and was set to hold it as these four front runners started to leave the rest of the utes behind.
The battle royale continued through the whole 12 laps, but there were no changes in the top order, Junior stayed out front with Phantom in 2nd and Ginja pushing hard in 3rd but not breaking through. Further down in the field there were changes aplenty. Senior (Graham Beirne) had moved to 5th, while Worsso (Miles Worsley) had to settle for 6th. The rest of the fleet chopped and changed as push came to shove, and even The Muss (Temuera Morrison) had to relent from the agro to keep his ute in one piece.
 Race 2 results:
Position Driver Make Points
1 Junior Simon Beirne, Ford 39
2 Phantom Matthew Lockwood, Holden 35
3 Ginga Ninja Caine Lobb, Holden 31
4 Bomba Mack Peach, Holden 29
5 Senior Graham Beirne, Ford 28
6 Worsso Miles Worsley, Ford 27
7 Rocketman Peter Robb, Holden 26
8 Dangerous Dayne Running, Holden 25
9 Kaos Peter Ward, Holden 24
10 Spence Geoff Spencer, Holden 23
11 The Muss Temuera Morrison, Ford 22
12 Chairman Ash Cairns, Ford 21
13 Huggi James Urquhart, Holden 20
14 Grunta Grant Taylor, Holden 19
15 Frankie Frank Van Schaijik, Holden DNF
16 Paddy Craig Paterson, Ford DNF
Race 3 gave us more of the V8 action. The front row had Ginga on pole with Phantom in 2nd. Junior was slotted into 3rd spot with Bomba on Phantoms tailpipe in 4th. And this was to be very exciting up front as not only were the drivers gunning for overall series points and a round win, but Phantom and Junior were locked in a battle to take the Mainland Series title. The Allied Petroleum Trophy was to be decided between these two and they were separated by only 12 points as they lined up on the grid.
From the outset it was Ginja's race, he bolted from the line and quickly grabbed the front slot and with Junior needing to place at least 4 spots ahead of Phantom to steal the trophy from him, it wasn't looking great. Junior grabbed 2nd spot and then a tussle between himself and Phantom ensued. Ginja was able to pull away and remain clear while the two Mainland contenders fought it out in the background. Four laps in and a shunt from Senior that put Huggi into the wall pulled the safety car out and the Utes had to queue on the home straight while Huggi was extracted and the barriers checked.
When the track was clear a rolling start had the Utes back in action and once again Ginja was able to pull clear. The fighting for second and third relaxed for a while and then with 4 laps to go the Phantom grabbed an inside line on Junior and with a decent shunt he had moved into 2nd. Everyone held their breath to see if a penalty would be called on Phantom (which would have lost him the trophy) but the race carried on and from there it was a matter of catch me if you can as the Phantom held off every lunge that Junior could throw at him.
When the checkered flag finally dropped the Ginja Ninja had taken the race win and the Round 4 win to go with it, and shortly after that, the Phantom went over the finish line to ensure it was his name that appeared beside the Mainland Series title. Junior crossed in a very respectable 3rd, and while good enough for more valuable series points, the Allied Petroleum Trophy was gone from his radar and heading north.
Race 3 Results
Position Driver Make Points
1 Ginga Ninja Caine Lobb, Holden 39
2 Phantom Matthew Lockwood, Holden 35
3 Junior Simon Beirne, Ford 31
4 Bomba Mack Peach, Holden 29
5 Dangerous Dayne Running, Holden 28
6 Worsso Miles Worsley, Ford 27
7 Senior Graham Beirne, Ford 26
8 Rocketman Peter Robb, Holden 25
9 Spence Geoff Spencer, Holden 24
10 The Muss Temuera Morrison, Ford 23
11 Grunta Grant Taylor, Holden 22
12 Chairman Ash Cairns, Ford 21
13 Paddy Craig Paterson, Ford 20
14 Frankie Frank Van Schaijik, Holden 19
15 Kaos Peter Ward, Holden DNF
16 Huggi James Urquhart, Holden DNF
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