Consistency has once again proved key for Timaru racing driver Corban Sprague after picking up a third consecutive round win in the Mazda Pro8 New Zealand Championship.
He has further extended his series lead after winning three out of the four races at Teretonga Park in Invercargill at the weekend.
Sprague qualified P1 with an impressive time of 1min 05.2sec and kept the pace for the rest of the race weekend.
He held his position, finishing P1 in the first race, and like the previous round, the grids for the second and third races were decided by a marble draw.
Sprague started race two from P4 but a quick start put him in a position to move into P1 by the end of the first lap, where he stayed for the rest of the race.
In race three, he started eighth on the grid but managed to grind out a fourth place finish.
The fourth and final race saw Sprague start P1 and, in a repeat of race one, he held his nerve to claim his third race win of the weekend.
He said the results were a great way to cap off the year.
‘‘I’m super pleased with how the weekend went, it was pretty trouble free. We had a few minor problems but nothing too major.
‘‘The speed in the car was awesome and I really enjoyed my time. It’s such an awesome track to drive and race around — it’s one of those tracks where you just tighten your belts and have a good crack.
‘‘It’s great to extend our lead in the championship and head into the break with a bit of a lead.’’
He put his recent run of form and results down to good preparation.
‘‘Just doing my preparation is definitely a big part of the consistency, working hard at my stuff and what I’m doing in the car. A lot of hours goes into that before we even get to the track.
‘‘Everyone [in the series] is improving and from last season to this year, the pace has dramatically increased. So I’ve been working hard to see how I can improve and it’s been really cool to see the gap that’s spread across the field.
‘‘It’s all really close, which is great for my development,’’ he said.
Sprague will return to action at the end of January when the series heads back to Levels International Motorsport Raceway in Timaru for round four.
