WEEKEND WRAP VIDEO >> https://www.facebook.com/cameronhill11/videos/1370081054130949
Well that’s a wrap on our visit to New Zealand and overall, I am pretty stoked with how it all panned out – especially since we ended up with another visit to the podium on Sunday!
Taupō itself is an amazing location and we got to experience that on Thursday when the locals came out to see us for the Track to Town parade. We know that the area has such a good fan base, so to see them out in full force was awesome.
The #4 Supaglass Chev Camaro felt pretty fast throughout the whole weekend, and it showed right from the get go as we made it to the top 10 for both practice sessions and qualifying for Race 8. Unfortunately we faced struggles on the super softs for Race 9 qualifying and ended up 17th.
We had a good start in Race 8 but received a 15-second penalty for contact on the first lap, which dropped us down to 14th by the time we finished the race. In Race 9, we actually made up lots of ground during our first stint, but a rattle gun issue during the pit stop cost us big time and we eventually crossed the line in P13.
Race 10's qualifying was a dream as we secured our highest ever Shootout position with P2! Although we had no green tyres for the Shootout itself, we set the fourth fastest time of the session.
There was plenty of chaos on the opening lap where I was able to take advantage of the seas parting ahead of me and claim the lead, giving me some hope of it being our day again. However Matt Payne proved too strong with an aggressive move to snatch the lead, and although I lost some ground as a result of the move, I was able to stay in P2 for the majority of the race.
To get on the podium again affirms all the work we have been putting in and certainly made up for Saturday’s challenges. We now leave Taupō sitting seventh in the overall standings.
Kia ora New Zealand, and thank you to the local fans for their incredible support.
