Currie Convincingly Takes Command of the New Zealand TQ Grand Prix
Ruapuna Speedway was the battle ground for the TQ Midgets last weekend with competitors contesting the Accessman TQ Masters on Friday and the New Zealand TQ Grand Prix on Saturday.
Ruapuna provided a rough and tough track surface on the Friday night, which resulted in several crashes and retirements – most notably that of RaceFit Athlete and crowd favourite Jeremy Webb. Webb was able to shift the momentum and take home two heat wins after his initial DNF. Cantabrians Webb and Liam McCoubrey both picked up heat wins, however, the masters feature belonged to the Aucklanders with RaceFit Athlete Kaleb Currie winning the feature, Troy Pennington finishing second and the local McCoubrey rounding out the last step of the podium. Currie controlled the race and dominated the field with no real threat to his green-to-chequered feature win.
Currie was on fire, and carried the momentum into the Saturday night Grand Prix. Qualifying on the front row, the Aucklander lead the entire 25 lap feature race and set a new lap record of 15.1865 on just the second lap. A flawless drive from Currie meant that he ran away with the feature and didn’t have to fend off any real challenges from other competitors. The fight for second place was heating up, with Jeremy Webb making a move on Aucklander Aaron Humble for second place, before having to give it back due to a caution flag on the same lap. This worked well for fellow Aucklander Troy Pennington who sling-shot into second place after making two brave outside passes on the restart. The feature finished with Currie, Pennington, Humble, Webb with Gisborne’s Dylan McGregor rounding out the top 5.
After winning two of the biggest TQ Midget races in a row, we spoke to Kaleb Currie on how he felt heading into the national title in Greymouth this weekend:
“I felt great at Ruapuna last weekend. The car was fast and we showed what the Viper TQ chassis is capable of. After taking my race fitness more seriously this year, I have found that extra edge. In the last 10-15 laps of those feature races, where being tired and making mistakes result in losing, I am as fresh and focused as ever. I attribute this to hard work I’ve been putting in with RaceFit. My fitness helped me stay focused in the 25 lap feature, where I was able to run a near flawless 25 laps and ultimately claim the NZ TQ Grand Prix in convincing fashion. The team is confident heading into the national title”
Currie now looks forward to the national title which is being contested at Greenstone Park, Greymouth. After a second place at nationals in his rookie season, the 1NZ has proven a difficult fish to catch for the Aucklander. Be sure to tune in to see who will be crowned the king of the TQ Midget class!