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MARCUS ARMSTRONG JOINS THE WINNER'S LIST AT TERETONGA

Saturday 19 January 2019, 5:58PM

By Mark Baker

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Marcus Armstrong simply drove past pole man Liam Lawson to win at Teretonga
Marcus Armstrong simply drove past pole man Liam Lawson to win at Teretonga Credit: Terry Marshall

Christchurch driver Marcus Armstrong has won the first race at round two of the 2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series, maintaining a clean sweep of Kiwi winners across all four races to date.

Race wins at last weekend’s opening round went to Liam Lawson and Invercargill’s Brendon Leitch, but it was Marcus Armstrong who took the lead this afternoon on a wet but drying track. Lawson on pole didn’t get the grip he sought, letting Armstrong shoot into a three car lead.

Lawson attacked again and again but Armstrong covered the young Pukekohe driver’s challenges again and again, forcing him to try the wide line in order to find overtaking opportunities.

Even after a safety car period closed up the field Armstrong remained calm and in control. On the penultimate lap Lawson dropped a wheel on the grass and lost contact with Armstrong, who made no mistake of the run to the chequered flag.

All three Kiwis are in the top five of the championship, which is a rare situation.

The combination of the long front straight made tricky for the light and agile FT50 singe-seaters by crosswinds that can hammer the circuit unexpectedly together with the challenging in-field turns make Teretonga a circuit where close attention and a certain daring is required to produce fast laps.

For the 2019 CTRS championship, Marcus Armstrong is sponsored by Auckland City Toyota and the Armstrong Motor Group.

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2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series points table

Liam Lawson                       113

Marcus Armstrong               113

Raoul Hyman                      79

Lucas Auer                           73

Brendon Leitch                    72

Cameron Das                      66

Artem Petrov                        59

Esteban Muth                      58

Petr Ptacek                           57

Calan Williams                    53

Kazuko Kotaka                    48

Dev Gore                              32

Parker Locke                        26

Thomas Smith                     26

Petru Florescu                     20

Jackson Walls                     8