Starting the afternoon Race 2 off grid five, Gibson moved up to fourth but could not maintain the pace of the other cars in the top five, dropping back two spots to finish in sixth.
"We were hoping for a better finish, we all know Matt can do it but it takes two to tango," said Phil Blythe, Gibson's mentor.
"The car and Matt need to work together to achieve a good outcome but this didn't happen."
Sunday brought more sunshine and hot weather as Gibson started Race 3 on row 3, grid six.
All was going well in the 15-lap race until about the half way mark when Gibson's brakes failed at turn five, the first new turn at Pukekohe, which failed and sent him through the grass.
The brakes remained inconsistent and caused the anti-lock braking system (ABS) to play tricks with the car, as Gibson nursed the Toyota around to finish sixth.
Matt Gibson Motorsport Team found the cause of the failed brakes was a loose strut bolt which was causing havoc with the handling and braking performance.
"The brakes became very inconsistent, some corners the brake pedal was hard and others it was soft," Gibson said.
"There was also a strange knocking sound coming from the left front of the car. I knew something wasn't right."
The team will do some testing over the Christmas break and look to have everything running smoothly for Round 3 at Hampton Downs in February.
After a consistent weekend, Christchurch racer Tom Alexander now leads the championship by 24 points on 382, followed by first-round leader Angus Fogg (358) and Jamie McNee (354).
Callum Quin getting third on the weekend moving him up to fourth overall on 330 and Gibson dropping back to fifth with 315.
