KEY POINTS:
Andy Knight drove a perfectly judged pair of races on Sunday at Teretonga near Invercargill to claim the 2008 Toyota Racing Series title.
The series win came down to the final corner of the final race of the season, with Christchurch-based Knight in his bio-fuelled Milwaukee Toyota race car fighting off a strong challenge from his key rival, Wanganui's Earl Bamber.
It was a triumph of experience over youth. Knight, 22, has finished second, third and fourth in the series in past years; second-placed Earl Bamber is just 17 and is being groomed for the next step in his single-seater career. Knight took the championship lead at the first round and only surrendered it to Bamber at Timaru a week ago.
Bamber brought an 11-point lead to the final round, but had a testing time at Teretonga. A qualifying error saw him relegated to fifth on the grid for Saturday's race, while a persistent misfire put him on the back row of the grid for both of Sunday's races. This set the scene for three aggressive drives from the young racer, who carved his way through the field in each race to challenge Knight for the points lead.
Chased hard all weekend by Bamber, Knight stayed focused on his title aspirations and drove defensively to a pair of second placings on Sunday behind Ben Harford and rookie Michael Burdett, holding out a charging Bamber in both races.
Knight takes the title itself, a $10,000 cash prize and the Chris Amon Trophy. Second place nets Bamber a prize purse of $8000; third place for Ben Harford brought a prize of $7000.
Burdett secured the rookie title ahead of his team mate, Nic Jordan, and with two race wins, the Aucklander serves notice of his championship title intentions for 2009.
