The Red Bull Junior driver qualified on pole, but was beaten off the line by championship leader Igor Fraga. Lawson held his own against the Brazilian, passing him into Turn 5.

The Brazilian fell to third after the move, with Yuki Tsunoda making his way up to second. The two battled it out until French driver Émilien Denner found the barriers at Turn 4, causing a Safety Car, and then a red flag.

Liam Lawson pulled away at the restart, leaving Tsunoda, his fellow Red Bull driver, to hold off the frustrated Fraga.

The race was interrupted for a second time when Caio Collet crashed, bringing out the Safety Car.

The race restarted with five laps left, and Lawson kept his advantage, leading to the chequered flag. Tsunoda and Fraga continued to battle it out, but the Japanese driver was able to make it a Red Bull one-two.

With the pole position and fastest lap, Lawson claimed a perfect start to the weekend in Pukekohe, and reduced Igor Fraga’s championship lead to just nine points.

“We had a pretty average start," he said.

"I know what I need to fix it, I was just too cautious with the clutch. To get past Igor was an important pass I had to do and I'm happy I made it stick. The car was really good in the race and the nice thing is we shouldn’t have to do much to it for tomorrow.”

Australian Jackson Walls finished P9.

Castrol Toyota Racing Series - Race 1 @ Pukekohe