MOTORSPORT - Mixed fortunes for Lobb

Caine Lobb dominated the first round of the MTA Formula Ford National Championships around the fast paced Pukekohe circuit but allowed overall victory to slip from his grasp.
The 18-year-old led the vast majority of laps at the meeting's three races on Saturday and Sunday but was unable to claim victories that were well within his grasp.
On Saturday morning Lobb claimed pole position with a time of one minute 2.325 seconds over Kurt Pederson's one minute 2.483 sec.
In the afternoon's opening championship race he swapped the lead seemingly lap after lap with last year's championship runner-up Andrew Waite of Auckland.
On the final lap, where it all counted, Lobb took the lead and the chequered flag but was then slapped with a five-second time penalty for allegedly jumping the start. With Lobb relegated to third the win went to Waite and Kurt Pederson picked up second.
"Apparently the car rolled ahead slightly before the start - not Caine's fault however," team manager Brian Craig said.
"The officials were in disagreement over it until they checked the video. We adjusted the clutch before the next race to make sure it wasn't going to happen again."
With Sunday morning came race two and Lobb led the race with a hard-chasing Pederson close behind. Pederson pushed so hard however he slipped off the track on his way up the infamous Pukekohe Circuit hill and slammed his Ford into the wall, subsequently causing a pile-up involving several following cars.
With no serious injury the track was cleared and race restarted with Lobb away again this time with Waite on his tail.
Lobb held the lead throughout the entire race until making a critical error at the hairpin on the final lap, letting Waite and also John Whelan through, to finally take third place.
He may have been cursing his luck after the race but had to quickly refocus because the final race was the big one. The Ron Frost Memorial Trophy and the Auckland Car Club's 75th Anniversary Trophy was to be awarded to the winner, regardless of the previous two race results.
The track was wet but with Lobb consistently strong in tough conditions he quickly built himself a very convincing lead ahead of Waite. Another accident brought out the safety car and the field was brought together again. With the race under way once more Lobb stretched the gap again and stormed through to win the race.
He received the two prestigious trophies and claimed second overall for the round behind Waite. Lobb was also awarded a new crash helmet worth $2500 for achieving pole position on Saturday morning.
The Whangarei driver, who is currently based in Christchurch, was clearly the dominant force over the weekend at his first race ever at Pukekohe in a Formula Ford.
Largely ignored by some national media as a serious contender for the championship in the lead-up to the initial round, the weekend's show of force by him surely has made those sit up and take notice of this young, talented driver.