Tony Meechan emerged from a barrage of hits to retain the Hawke's Bay Superstock Championship title on Saturday night.
"That's what made this title so sweet. Mike McLachlan is the best of the best when it comes to hits and I managed to come out of a couple of his and then avoid him on another couple of occasions," Meechan said after winning the title by one point from fellow Bay driver Quinn Ryan at Hauraki Meeanee Speedway.
"I didn't want to take Tony out completely I just wanted to make the points a bit closer," McLachlan quipped as he congratulated Meechan in the pits afterwards.
One of 17 starters in the third and final round in the nine-race championship, Meechan finished 11th in Saturday night's third heat after McLachlan halted his progress on lap five when he was the leader. Meechan was also 11th in heat two and fifth in heat one.
"That's the beauty of this format ... a driver can be rewarded for consistency. It's a bit unfortunate not all the drivers could make all three rounds," Meechan said.