Shepherd tops second session at Pukekohe Park

27 March 2021 / Events

Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship leader Rowan Shepherd topped the times in the second practice session at Pukekohe Park today as the teams fine-tuned their cars for the qualifying session later this afternoon.

He traded times with championship rival Ryan Wood (pictured above) in the Wholesale Cars Direct TR86 throughout the session, ending up fastest in what was generally a slower session than the earlier morning practice.

Brock Gilchrist maintained his form at the start of the weekend with third place in the session for CareVets, whole Christina Orr-West was fourth fastest. Both of the series lady racers, Orr-West and Alexandra Whitley, posted strong times throughout, appearing regularly in the top three in the 20 minute session.

Whitley eventually finished seventh overall, behind championship challenger Simon Evans and Dayle ITM Racing's Ronan Murphy.

Marco Giltrap, Tayler Bryant - running strongly again for MTF Finance - and John Penny completed the top ten. The latter survived a wild moment over the final corner that saw him take to the grass for most of the home straight without spinning or making contact with anything else. Mark Mallard joined the session late after some mechanical issues but will be good to go for qualifying later this afternoon.

Pukekohe is the fourth and penultimate round of the 2021 championship, with all three races taking place on Sunday.

Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship - Round 4 Pukekohe Park - Practice 2