MacNeill lives the dream

Last Monday night, Sam MacNeill had a dream about a choice overtaking manoeuvre.

On Saturday, as wind gusts swept Manfeild, he pulled it off against flying Aucklander Andrew Waite in the first Toyota Series race of the weekend.

While sitting fifth, the Palmerston North driver deliberately went wide into the tricky Dunlop bend and Waite blocked the move.

But after the feint, Waite couldn't see MacNeill as he spun the wheel and whipped across Waite's stern and was gone, off to finish fourth in a race which saw half the field spin off the circuit.

"I was very happy; I crossed over on the second apex," MacNeill said.

He then amazed himself by getting on the podium in third place in yesterday's first race but alas, not so in the New Zealand Grand Prix. He qualified at the back of the grid and still finished a commendable seventh.

With the cars all so equal, no way could MacNeill get near grand prix winner Earl Bamber or runnerup, Mitch Evans.

MacNeill was exhausted. He was the Manfeild staff member charged with running the dinner on Saturday night and only got home at midnight.

His shoulders felt battered and bruised after the NZGP 35-lapper yesterday.

"I was just focused on getting to the end," he said.

When his Triple-X crewman put the pit-board out showing 20 laps left, it was five laps longer than a normal race.

"When I saw 20 laps to go that was a killer," MacNeill said. "Am I going to last? But I knew Kenny Smith was out there in his 60s and he was lasting."

But last Monday when MacNeill was having his dream, he wasn't even entered to drive. So to get a late seat and to finish fourth overall for the weekend was huge.

"It's not ideal coming in when everyone else has had four rounds," he said.

However, he proved the car was competitive even if behind the others in its setup.

An Australian had driven it earlier in the series but headed home claiming there was something amiss with the car. MacNeill proved there wasn't.

Palmerston North's Bramwell King turned 14 only in December but the Palmerston North Boys' High School fourth-former drove well in the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup races yesterday.

In race one he started eighth and finished fourth, in race two started seventh and was fifth and in race three started on the fifth row and was seventh.

"In the races today I had a few hits and managed to keep on the track," King said.

- © Fairfax NZ News