The New Zealand Motor Cup was set to be a duel between championship rivals Liam Lawson and Igor Fraga, with the pair locking out the front row for Sunday’s feature race.

Lawson, eleven points behind the Brazilian, qualified on pole and lead away from the start. Fraga tucked in behind Lawson into Turn 3, preparing for a long race behind the 2019 champion.

It was not to be, however, as Grégoire Saucy, propelled to third from his stellar start, tipped Fraga, spinning him and sending him to the rear of the field.

Lawson, with clear air behind him, set about building his lead, but the Safety Car was brought out to collect Lucas Petersson’s stray front win, and the race was neutralised.

Fraga made good on his recovery, passing Axel Gnos into P15, and then earning a promotion to P14 when Saucy was given a drive-through penalty.

The Brazilian eSports champion quickly passed Spike Kohlbecker, Oliver Rasmussen, Aussie Jackson Walls, and Tijment van der Helm, on a stellar attempt to recover valuable championship points that took him to P8 at the chequered flag.

Red Bull Junior driver Yuki Tsunoda had a similarly memorable drive, starting P16, moving up to P8 by the end of the dramatic first lap, eventually finishing fourth.