Stubbs fourth in Formula First

MASTERTON Formula First rookie Matthew Stubbs has finished the season fourth overall, coming within an ace of third place and the rookie title.
And he has been promoted to number one team driver for Sabre Motorsport next season and within weeks will take the wheel of a brand new Formula First racing car.
That's pretty heady stuff for the young racer, who has been on a steep learning curve this season.
He has had two crashes, one major, and they denied him the third placing that should have been his.
He has also seen off some very experienced racers.
Last weekend at Manfeild saw the dramas continue.
He qualified well on Friday, earning himself a starting position on the second row of the grid for the first time.
Mechanical problems set in in Saturday's first race, with the car jumping out of gear.
Stubbs had to hold it in gear throughout, getting up to third or fourth at one stage before settling back into the pack.
On one occasion when the car slipped out of gear a couple of back-markers slipped through, and in the subsequent dice one of them punted him off.
He recovered to finish 15th, his worst placing of the season, apart from the crashes.
With a new gearbox on Sunday Stubbs held his start position, fourth, throughout, after a race-long battle for third.
That contest, unfortunately, slowed him, with backmarkers recording faster times and displacing him on the grid, down to 6th, and that was where he finished, after being held up by a slower car and losing touch with the leaders.
His manager, Stuart Stubbs, said getting the No 1 drive for next season was the best news they'd had all year.
It will be the first new Formula First car in about five years, and will incorporate the latest technology and thinking.
The former No 1 driver has moved on to Formula Ford.
The new car will run in a one-hour endurance event, which will serve as a test session, before being handed over to Stubbs for the winter series, starting in June.
That means the young driver will be thoroughly familiar with the car for next season and will be looking to top the podium.
The other exciting news is the possibility of a trip to Australia for that country's national champion-ship, held over six races on one weekend. In Australia the top 10 drivers from each state come together for the final, so Stubbs would find himself in some hot competition in an unfamiliar car.
The Australia trip is only a "slight possibility" at this stage, Stuart Stubbs said.
In addition to their own racing, father and son saw some exciting contests in other classes.
Stuart Stubbs said the highlight from him was seeing the old McGintys truck hauled out of retirement after the truck field was decimated by crashes and mechanical failures.
The truck, older than some of the drivers, and in the hands of Calvin Bonney, won the final race, to the delight of the crowd.
The supertruck championship was won by John Hepburn.