Timaru racing driver Corban Sprague has extended his lead in the Mazda Pro8 New Zealand Championship after a successful second round at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell.
Sprague picked up where he left off at Levels Raceway for the opening round, finishing P1 in qualifying.
He started the first of four races in P1, ultimately finishing P3.
The grid for the second and third races were decided by a marble draw and Sprague started race two from P14.
A strong drive saw him climb to P3 and then pick up a win in the third race after starting from P2.
In the final race Sprague started from pole and held his lead, giving him another race win and the overall win for the round.
He said he was pleased to have been able to carry his round one momentum into Highlands.
‘‘I’m definitely happy with my performance, I feel like I sort of ironed out a couple of my mistakes from round one. There are still obviously some little things to work on but you’re always learning in this sport.
‘‘I’m super pleased with the round and it’s great to be able to extend our lead in the championship this early on. I try not to think about it too much, as a lot can happen in three race weekends, so we’re just taking it round by round and I’m focusing on doing the best job I can.
‘‘The car’s felt really good and really enjoyable to drive, which has been making my job easier, so hopefully we can continue that and see where we end up at the end.’’
Sprague now leads series by 54 championship points heading into round three of five at Teretonga Park in Invercargill this weekend.
He said the focus for Teretonga was consistency.
‘‘We’ve just got to keep the ball rolling. It’s been a good first couple of rounds, so hopefully we can go out and pick up some more race wins, get out of the weekend unscathed and extend our lead in the championship.’’
It will be Sprague’s last race of 2025, in what has been a busy year for the young driver.
‘‘It’s been massive. If you had told me at the start of the year that I would have done what I have, I probably would’ve laughed. It’s been crazy the amount of stuff I’ve been able to achieve.
‘‘I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done and I’ve definitely progressed a lot as a driver over this year.
‘‘I’ve been involved with some great groups and academies and have had some great people in my corner helping me improve.’’
As always, Sprague wished to give a big thanks to all his sponsors and partners.
‘‘I couldn’t do it without them.’’
