2017 Hampton Downs TRS round
# 2017 Hampton Downs TRS round

The 2017 Hampton Downs TRS round was the third round of the 2017 Toyota Racing Series. The event was held at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, in North Waikato, New Zealand from 28 to 29 January 2017.

## Background

Heading into the weekend, Richard Verschoor leads the championship by an extensive margin. Strong, consistent performances from the young Dutchman meant he was the man to beat. Other strong performances in the field included the likes of Thomas Randle, who was a constant front runner in the first two rounds of the championship.

## Report

### Practice

Thomas Randle demonstrated his pace early on by taking out four out of the five practice sessions and broke the track record in the process. Pedro Piquet took out the second practice session, narrowly beating out Randle.

| Session | Day | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Session | Day | No. | Driver | Team | Time |
| Practice 1 | Thursday | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.975 |
| Practice 2 | Thursday | 5 | Pedro Piquet | M2 Competition | 1:00.561 |
| Practice 3 | Friday | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.361 |
| Practice 4 | Friday | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.393 |
| Practice 5 | Friday | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.109 |

### Race 1

**Qualifying**

Randle dominated qualifying by taking pole position by nearly two-tenths of a second over Jehan Daruvala. They were followed by Armstrong, Leitch and Piquet.

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap | Grid |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 0:59.636 | 1 |
| 2 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | M2 Competition | 0:59.801 | 2 |
| 3 | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | M2 Competition | 0:59.846 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 | Brendon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 0:59.944 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 | Pedro Piquet | M2 Competition | 0:59.983 | 5 |
| 6 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | M2 Competition | 1:00.055 | 6 |
| 7 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.147 | 7 |
| 8 | 83 | Kami Laliberté | M2 Competition | 1:00.164 | 8 |
| 9 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.284 | 9 |
| 10 | 26 | Harry Hayek | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.302 | 10 |
| 11 | 96 | Luis Leeds | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.337 | 11 |
| 12 | 11 | Taylor Cockerton | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.408 | 12 |
| 13 | 47 | Keyvan Andres Soori | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.502 | 13 |
| 14 | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.532 | 14 |
| 15 | 12 | Christian Hahn | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.532 | 15 |
| 16 | 10 | Thomas Neubauer | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.626 | 16 |
| 17 | 80 | Nikita Lastochkin | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.634 | 17 |
| 18 | 51 | Shelby Blackstock | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.684 | 18 |
| 19 | 33 | Kory Enders | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.726 | 19 |
| 20 | 27 | Jean Baptiste Simmenauer | M2 Competition | 1:00.900 | 20 |
| Source(s): ||||||

**Race**

After a chaotic start which saw Leitch and Daruvala tumbling down the order, Marcus Armstrong came through to win his second race of the year. An early red flag saw the race restarted with a shortened distance. After losing out the lead,

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Grid |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | M2 Competition | 15 | 16min 34.701sec | 3 |
| 2 | 5 | Pedro Piquet | M2 Competition | 15 | + 0.334 s | 5 |
| 3 | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 0.677 s | 1 |
| 4 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 4.457 s | 7 |
| 5 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 4.972 s | 9 |
| 6 | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 5.756 s | 14 |
| 7 | 83 | Kami Laliberté | M2 Competition | 15 | + 8.838 s | 8 |
| 8 | 11 | Taylor Cockerton | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 9.100 s | 12 |
| 9 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | M2 Competition | 15 | + 9.500 s | 6 |
| 10 | 47 | Keyvan Andres Soori | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 15.261 s | 13 |
| 11 | 51 | Shelby Blackstock | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 15.537 s | 18 |
| 12 | 3 | Brendon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 17.748 s | 4 |
| 13 | 96 | Luis Leeds | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 19.435 s | 11 |
| 14 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | M2 Competition | 15 | + 19.604 s | 2 |
| 15 | 26 | Harry Hayek | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 24.979 s | 10 |
| 16 | 33 | Kory Enders | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 24.993 s | 19 |
| 17 | 27 | Jean Baptiste Simmenauer | M2 Competition | 15 | + 29.430 s | 20 |
| 18 | 12 | Christian Hahn | Giles Motorsport | 14 | + 1 lap | 15 |
| Ret | 80 | Nikita Lastochkin | Victory Motor Racing | 0 | Retired | 17 |
| Ret | 10 | Thomas Neubauer | MTEC Motorsport | 0 | Retired | 16 |
| Fastest Lap: Thomas Randle (Victory Motor Racing) – 1:00.694 |||||||
| Source(s): |||||||

### Race 2

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | Giles Motorsport | 15 | 16min sec |
| 2 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 2.436 s |
| 3 | 5 | Pedro Piquet | M2 Competition | 15 | + 3.661 s |
| 4 | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | M2 Competition | 15 | + 6.128 s |
| 5 | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 11.686 s |
| 6 | 83 | Kami Laliberté | M2 Competition | 15 | + 12.064 s |
| 7 | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 12.900 s |
| 8 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | M2 Competition | 15 | + 14.900 s |
| 9 | 11 | Taylor Cockerton | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 16.407 s |
| 10 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | M2 Competition | 15 | + 16.493 s |
| 11 | 26 | Harry Hayek | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 17.178 s |
| 12 | 47 | Keyvan Andres Soori | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 23.410 s |
| 13 | 51 | Shelby Blackstock | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 23.710 s |
| 14 | 33 | Kory Enders | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 23.809 s |
| 15 | 10 | Thomas Neubauer | MTEC Motorsport | 15 | + 26.252 s |
| 16 | 3 | Brendon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 26.641 s |
| 17 | 27 | Jean Baptiste Simmenauer | M2 Competition | 15 | + 30.953 s |
| 18 | 12 | Christian Hahn | Giles Motorsport | 15 | + 36.576 s |
| 19 | 96 | Luis Leeds | Giles Motorsport | 14 | + 1 lap |
| Ret | 80 | Nikita Lastochkin | Victory Motor Racing | 2 | Retired |
| Fastest Lap: Enaam Ahmed (Giles Motorsport) – 0:59.636 |||||||
| Source(s): |||||||

### Race 3

**Qualifying**

Randle once again snatched pole position, though this time with a narrow margin over Daruvala. They were followed by Piquet, Verschoor and Armstrong.

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap | Grid |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 0:59.333 | 1 |
| 2 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | M2 Competition | 0:59.402 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | Pedro Piquet | M2 Competition | 0:59.467 | 3 |
| 4 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Giles Motorsport | 0:59.624 | 4 |
| 5 | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | M2 Competition | 0:59.770 | 5 |
| 6 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | M2 Competition | 0:59.846 | 6 |
| 7 | 83 | Kami Laliberté | M2 Competition | 0:59.852 | 7 |
| 8 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | Giles Motorsport | 0:59.872 | 8 |
| 9 | 96 | Luis Leeds | Giles Motorsport | 0:59.908 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | Taylor Cockerton | MTEC Motorsport | 0:59.949 | 10 |
| 11 | 26 | Harry Hayek | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.064 | 11 |
| 12 | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.072 | 12 |
| 13 | 3 | Brendon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.073 | 13 |
| 14 | 12 | Christian Hahn | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.085 | 14 |
| 15 | 47 | Keyvan Andres Soori | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.184 | 15 |
| 16 | 80 | Nikita Lastochkin | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.197 | 16 |
| 17 | 51 | Shelby Blackstock | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.238 | 17 |
| 18 | 33 | Kory Enders | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.294 | 18 |
| 19 | 10 | Thomas Neubauer | MTEC Motorsport | 1:00.325 | 19 |
| 20 | 27 | Jean Baptiste Simmenauer | M2 Competition | 1:00.565 | 20 |
| Source(s): ||||||

**Race**

After a chaotic start which saw Leitch and Daruvala tumbling down the order, Marcus Armstrong came through to win his second race of the year. An early red flag saw the race restarted with a shortened distance. After losing out the lead,

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 49 | Thomas Randle | Victory Motor Racing | 20 | 24min 37.172sec |
| 2 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | M2 Competition | 20 | + 3.362 s |
| 3 | 9 | Jehan Daruvala | M2 Competition | 20 | + 4.751 s |
| 4 | 83 | Kami Laliberté | M2 Competition | 20 | + 6.154 s |
| 5 | 5 | Pedro Piquet | M2 Competition | 20 | + 7.554 s |
| 6 | 96 | Luis Leeds | Giles Motorsport | 20 | + 8.584 s |
| 7 | 11 | Taylor Cockerton | MTEC Motorsport | 20 | + 10.503 s |
| 8 | 26 | Harry Hayek | Giles Motorsport | 20 | + 10.765 s |
| 9 | 12 | Christian Hahn | Giles Motorsport | 20 | + 11.276 s |
| 10 | 65 | Enaam Ahmed | Giles Motorsport | 20 | + 11.833 s |
| 11 | 80 | Nikita Lastochkin | Victory Motor Racing | 20 | + 12.352 s |
| 12 | 22 | Richard Verschoor | Giles Motorsport | 20 | + 12.879 s |
| 13 | 51 | Shelby Blackstock | Victory Motor Racing | 20 | + 14.316 s |
| 14 | 47 | Keyvan Andres Soori | Giles Motorsport | 20 | + 14.316 s |
| 15 | 10 | Thomas Neubauer | MTEC Motorsport | 20 | + 19.373 s |
| 16 | 27 | Jean Baptiste Simmenauer | M2 Competition | 20 | + 20.345 s |
| 17 | 33 | Kory Enders | MTEC Motorsport | 17 | + 3 laps |
| 18 | 3 | Brendon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 15 | + 5 laps |
| Ret | 8 | Marcus Armstrong | M2 Competition | 7 | Retired |
| Ret | 24 | Ameya Vaidyanathan | MTEC Motorsport | 1 | Retired |
| Fastest Lap: Thomas Randle (Victory Motor Racing) – 01:00.526 |||||||
| Source(s): |||||||
