Young Thomas McLean of Whangarei will remember the second round of the top half series in Tokoroa over the weekend, because it finished with a flourish and a chequered flag.
After a disastrous first round of the competition at Mt Wellington in May, McLean was way back in field in 11th
place out of 15 in the Junior Restricted Class.
Because of an over-subscribed field, each driver entered had to sit out two heats of the six in total.
The Whangarei driver's initial stand down was the first heat, but he got a good start from grid 10 in the second heat.
He then got put on to the grass, and finally managed to work his way back up to fifth.
Warmed-up now, he took advantage of another great start in the third heat to end up second.
Starting off grid four, in heat four, he grabbed his first chequered flag.
The fifth heat was McLean's last stand down so he only sat and watched. In the sixth and final heat, he was back off the seventh grid.
It was an interesting finale as rain came down on the competitors sitting on the dummy grid. There was a mad dash back to the pits by most to grab wet tyres, but McLean made the call not to put the wets on since the shower was short and the track was already drying.
As the heat started, two of the drivers on wets went straight to the front and McLean managed to stick with them. After two laps the track was all but dry and, as McLean's slicks were heating up, those with the wets started to struggle and he flew past them to take the chequered flag.
In the final, McLean duelled with Hawkes Bay's Maddison Wise, the 2008 Cadet Class Champion, with the pair dominating the race and swapping the lead three times.
In the end, it was nose to tail across the finish line with the Whangarei driver taking the chequered flag and the overall win for the round.
