A David and Goliath battle has witnessed a young Kase Pullen-Burry top the Repco D1NZ Pro standings after a spectacular head-to-head with four-time champion ‘Fanga’ Dan Woolhouse at the season opening round at Taupo International Motorsport Park.
Held under sunny skies it was an idyllic way to start the 2024 season. Incorporating both Pro and Pro Sport categories a total of 48 teams started the weekend with practice and qualifying held on the December 15.
When it came to Saturday’s battles – it was more than a series of surprise results.
First it was the Pro Sport category – and it was the noisy little Toyota 86 of Keisuke Nagashima taking Round 1. Runner-up in second place was Adam Whitehead with Ryan Parry awarded third.
In Pro it was a hot battle where Pullen-Burry of P-B Drift the round winner. Finishing alongside was Dave Steedman of Team DSR while Shaun Potroz got the better of Woolhouse. This followed a thrilling battle where Pullen-Burry got the best of the four-time champion following a rare mistake.
There was plenty more – including solid runs by Jaron Olivecrona in the Lexus V12 and international Jeremy Slamet finishing in sixth.
It’s now the holiday season break with round two of the 2024 championship season heading to the South Island and a first-time visit to the STP Kohatu drift park south of Nelson.