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Ngatoa, Boys Top Tricky Thursday Practice Sessions
Kaleb Ngatoa and Jordan Boys have topped Thursday’s two practice sessions for the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship at Adelaide, which also serves as the sole event of the 2023 Tasman Series.
New Zealander Ngatoa topped the first session for Team 88 / Team BRM despite being a last minute replacement for the ill Roberto Mehri, however the story of the day was the wet weather that played havoc in both sessions.
It didn’t take long for the Adelaide Parklands Circuit to bite, as championship contender Cooper Webster looped his Versa Motorsport entry on the exit of the Senna Chicane on his second lap in Practice One, kissing the wall on the outside of turn three and losing his front wing.
Webster’s incident would be the final meaningful running to occur in dry conditions, with track conditions becoming extremely difficult to handle within a matter of minutes.
Sebastien Amadio would bring the morning session to an early end with a big accident at turn eight after the rear of the Amadio Wines entry stepped out at the entry to the high speed sweeper, leaving the right-hand side of the car heavily damaged.
Amadio’s car would be repaired for the afternoon’s second practice session, however the weather would not improve, with treacherous track conditions awaiting the field in their final 25-minute session of the day.
Championship leader Aaron Cameron was the first driver to test out the limits, spinning his Team Valvoline GRM entry through 360 degrees on the exit of turn five, remarkably getting away with zero contact with the walls.
Morning pacesetter Ngatoa was the next to have a heart-stopping moment with a big tank slapper through the turn eight sweeper, though he would also get away with no damage on the way to second for the session.
The session would be interrupted by two incidents at turn eleven, with first Ben Bargwanna, then Ngatoa both aquaplaning off into the gravel but escaping damage.
Ngatoa’s off would end Practice Two prematurely, with Cameron’s Team Valvoline GRM teammate Jordan Boys topping the session with a 1m 33.5996s, half a second up on the New Zealander, and over a second quicker than the championship leader.
The S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship returns to the Adelaide Parklands Circuit tomorrow morning for qualifying at 9:55am local time, before the first of three races that make up the 2023 Tasman Series begins at 2:15pm.
Qualifying and all three races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506.