Matt Lockwood triumphed over spirited opposition and a wet weekend to win his third Mazda Pro7 Plus meeting this season. A first and two seconds at the Manfeild IRC meeting gave Lockwood the round win, edging out Dean McMillan by one point in the closest result to date.
After qualifying third in a wet session that was full of yellow flags, in which Lockwood did not get a clean run, he comfortably won the first race, came second in the reverse-grid second race and started on pole for the final race. A bad start by Lockwood in the final race allowed McMillan an early lead, which he defended well to take a close win.
Lockwood has increased his lead at every meeting to date and is looking forward to the next meeting at Pukekohe on 20/21 February. However, the week before this meeting Lockwood will be behind the wheel of an NZV8 touring car as he takes on the experienced opposition at the next tier-one round.
Lockwood was underprepared for his first NZV8 round at Pukekohe, but is determined to do better in the remaining two North Island rounds, the next one at his home track Manfeild.
