Marton's Kaleb Ngatoa will complete his first season in the Toyota 86 Championship on Saturday at Hampton Downs.
Marton's Kaleb Ngatoa will complete his first season in the Toyota 86 Championship on Saturday at Hampton Downs.
Marton teenager Kaleb Ngatoa will look to put himself up the field as a potential title spoiler for the final round of his debut Toyota 86 Championship at Hampton Downs on Saturday.
Currently ninth in points, Ngatoa finally got to show what he can do in his JJ Walters/Capture SignsToyota at the previous round in Manfeild with his first podium of the series - coming third behind title contenders Callum Hedge of Auckland and Christchurch's Jaden Ransley in the third race.
Mathematically, there are five drivers still in contention to win the championship with 225 maximum points available for winning the three races this weekend.
However, realistically the title will be decided between current leader Ransley, on 939 points, followed closely by Hedge (921), then the outside bet in Auckland's Jordan Baldwin (850).
In a competitive season, which started in November, the series leader has changed nearly every round.
Auckland's Connor Adam, currently fifth, was top driver after the opening round in Pukekohe, before the rookie Hedge took over after the second round, also on Pukekohe but using the short track configuration.
Hedge maintained his lead after the third round in Cromwell in January, before Baldwin hit top form the following weekend in Invercargill, as he and Ransley moved ahead of Hedge.
Manfeild saw Ransley keep his form going to take over the series lead as this time it was Baldwin who fell off the pace, with Hedge also moving from third to second.
Aside from the Top 3, it is Adam and Auckland's Peter Vodanovich who are the next most likely to win a race, having done so during the season, while Auckland youngster Brock Gilchrist picked up a podium in tough weather conditions in Invercargill.
Most practice and qualifying sessions have seen the field covered by a second and a half or less, and in the races there have been driver vs driver battles from the front to the back of the field.
Ngatoa has had a handful of Top 5 finishes this season, with the fifth and third placings in Manfeild being his best return for a weekend round, and he could have been further up the points table if not for the series of mechanical failures at the Cromwell round.
Points after five rounds: 1. Jaden Ransley 939; 2. Callum Hedge 921; 3. Jordan Baldwin 850; 4. Peter Vodanovich 732; 5. Connor Adam 719; 6. Brock Gilchrist 649; 7. Arran Crighton 628; 8. Jacob Cranston 593; 9. Kaleb Ngatoa 572; 10. Campbell Stewart 481. 11. Justin Allen 458; 12. Sam Wright 446; 13. Connor Davison 430; 14. Andrew Jackson 282; 15. Leo Bult 238; 16. Mitch Hughes 215; 17. Jake Klein 143; 18. Tony Austin 102.
