Marton teenager Kaleb Ngatoa has had to settle for 10th overall in the driver standings coming out of the first round of the 2018-2019 Toyota 86 Championship in Pukekohe at the weekend.
The Rangitikei College student was making his debut in the class, which held qualifying and three races as supports to the V8 Supercars round.
Racing for the JJ Wallers/Capture Signs team, which is operated by Ken Smith Motorsport, Ngatoa finished sixth in qualifying on Saturday morning.
It was looking like his best performance would be Race 1 that afternoon, coming in fifth place for the race which was won by Auckland's Connor Adam.
Adam was put under pressure by pole-sitter and last season's top rookie Jordan Baldwin (Auckland), along with Jaden Ransley (Christchurch).