MASTERTON driver Matthew Stubbs charged back from a disastrous round at Pukekohe last month with a fifth and two sixths at the weekend, moving up to sixth in a very competitive Formula First motor racing championship meeting in Aucklanbd on Sunday. Stubbs, 18, was the innocent victim of a high-speed crashin Auckland last time out. This time, with his Sabre team car restored to new condition, he drove within himself to record good placings. His manager, father Stuart Stubbs, said Matt arrived at the circuit in wet conditions on Friday. "That was disappointing, but we got some wet practice and wet settings," he said. Matt's second lap was his fastest, a time that put him on the fourth row of the grid in a field of 20 cars. He started eighth and finished 5th in race one, and started eighth and finished sixth in the next two races, logging around 140 points, compared with the 22 he got last time out. Those placings advanced him from ninth to around sixth place overall. "The car was immaculate," Stuart Stubbs said. "Matt was really happy with it. He had to get finishes. He could have got second in race two, but he drove tentatively to get points. Even so, he was passing cars easily." The A1 GP is on this weekend at Taupo, so the next outing for the Formula Firsts is Manfeild the following weekend.
