Kiwis speed to race success

Auckland’s Nick Cassidy continued his winning ways with a victory and second place at the All-Japan Formula 3 Championship over the weekend. With series leader Kenta Yamashita only managing eighth in the first race, Cassidy in his TOM’S Toyota has shot to a seven-point lead over Yamashita in the title race with five rounds and 10 races to go. In the first of two races at Okayama, Cassidy took pole, posted fastest lap and led by 10 seconds at the chequered flag. In the second, he missed pole by a fraction, but tucked in behind his TOM’S Toyota team-mate Yamashita for a one-two finish and banking valuable points to retake the series lead. Cassidy and his team-mate have now won six of the seven races of the championship. The Japanese F3 Championship uses a Dallara chassis with a choice of two-litre motors from various manufacturers. Meanwhile, Tauranga’s Richie Stanaway is “over the moon” after scoring his maiden GP2 win on the tight and twisty streets of Monaco on Saturday. On just his third race weekend in GP2, he scored a lights-to-flag victory in the sprint race to give his Status team its first win in the Formula 1 support category. Stanaway says the tight nature of the course means it’s critical to qualify well. Front row of the grid gave him every chance at a win. “If you get the lead in the first corner in Monaco and your pace is good, it’s difficult for anyone to overtake,” he says. “After the first couple of laps, I knew if I stayed focused that was pretty much job done because I wasn’t struggling with any balance issues.” Stanaway powered past pole man Raffaele Marciello at the start and maintained control throughout. He had a clear speed advantage over Marciello and, by mid-distance, his lead stood at three seconds. He made the most of his pace by power-sliding out of the final corner to take the chequered flag. Stanaway is a graduate of New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series, while Nick Cassidy a multiple champion of the series and winner of the NZ Grand Prix.