Former Valvoline D1NZ champ 'Fanga Dan' Woolhouse has rebounded neatly from a tough Teretonga to emerge victorious at round two of the season at Pukekohe Park.
The result sees the Ford Mustang pilot leap to second in the standings, just a handful of points behind series leader Cole Armstrong. Ironically, Woolhouse and Armstrong were the two D1NZ drivers performing 'double duty'. Over the course of Friday and Saturday's running, the pairing helicoptered from Pukekohe to Hahei (and back) to drift up Rod Millen's hill at the popular Leadfoot Festival.
It was a round to forget for Armstrong. His newly rebuilt Nissan 350GT was set to debut, only for an engine failure to rule him out of contention before Saturday's action had even begun. And, he was one of numerous drivers to battle troubles as the weekend progressed.
One of the others was Jesse Greenslade. He had a scary high-speed off at turn one during Saturday's running, which tore the left rear out of his red Nissan Silvia S15. After a long overnight repair job he was at least able to return for the next day's battles.
On the bumpy, challenging Pukekohe surface drivers continued to make unforced errors as the field whittled down to a top eight. Woolhouse ended up being joined in the top four by Daynom Templeman, Bruce Tannock, and Liam Burke.
Against an experienced top four, it was Burke that would make a surprise appearance in the finals in his Nissan Silvia S13. In the end, Woolhouse was able to claim the win. Tannock's strong weekend saw him jump to fourth in the standings, one spot behind Taylor James, and ahead of Dave Steedman and Michael Thorley.
The series now travels to Tauranga for round three at Trust Power Baypark on February 28-29. There series will be joined by its Pro-Sport feeder-class category for up-and-comers.