Brad Kroef wins Sunday's racing at Hampton Downs.

Photo credit: @dillonphotonz

Close qualifying times on Saturday led to even closer racing on Sunday in the Ferodo V8 Utes at Hampton Downs. Brad Kroef emerged a winner in Race Two and in doing so, bagged enough points to win the round and take the lead in the series. But he had to work for it.

Sunday morning’s Race Two was a reverse grid format, which meant yesterday’s winner Phill Ross sat on the back row alongside Brad Kroef. While Stu Monteith and Tyler Ward lead proceedings for the first lap, Brad Kroef wasted no time in carving his way through the back of the field.

Paul 'Smokey' Fougere under attack from Brad Kroef on Lap 3

By the second lap Brad was up to 6^th, come lap three he was 4^th, and was in the lead by lap five. It was a polished display of clean, calculated driving from the 2-time V8 Utes champion.

Not far behind, however, the dominoes were falling. With the racing so close, it was inevitable there’d be some close contacts.

Phill Ross slid off onto the grass and took some hits on re-entry. Cam Vernon suffered a side impact. Then Mitch Sparrow took a hit. Daniel Ludlam also sustained damage. Tyler Ward spun and Stu Monteith took an impact. Jeremy Hunt spun on Turn 8, stalled, and only just managed to avoid the approaching NZ Six racers. Who says the Ferodo V8 Utes don’t put on a show?

Jeremy Hunt kept ahead of Daniel Ludlam, but not for long

And despite all the mayhem, Mitch Sparrow set the fastest lap of 1.15.889 on lap four. Along the way, Phill Ross made steady progress and by the sixth lap had manoeuvred his way up to 4^th. Brad Kroef held onto the lead, stretching his margin over Daniel Ludlam to almost 5 seconds by the chequered flag. Phill Ross stormed home to finish 3^rd having started last.

The scenes in the pits after the race told the story of some close racing, with several wounded warriors bruising numerous battle scars.

Sadly, an incident in one of the other categories mid-afternoon brought the NZIGP event to a premature end mid-afternoon, meaning the Ferodo V8 Utes' Race Three was one of several to be cancelled. The entire V8 Utes community's thoughts are with the driver and wish him a speedy recovery.

For the Ferodo V8 Utes, it was a weekend of surprisingly close competition as rookies & newcomers held their own against seasoned veterans, setting the scene for a season of fierce, feisty racing. The utes now take a summer break, allowing teams to massage some bodywork bruises in readiness for Round Three at Hampton Downs 14-15th March 2026. 

	RACE TWO	UTE	MARGIN
1st	Brad Kroef	Ford	+0.558
2nd	Daniel Ludlam	Holden	+4.924
3rd	Phill Ross	Holden	+7.876
4th	Blair Gribble-Bowring	Ford	+9.341
5th	Greg Kroef	Ford	+9.503
6th	Tyler Ward	Holden	+10.076
7th	Paul Fougere	Holden	+10.865
8th	Cam Vernon	Ford	+11.890
9th	Mitch Sparrow	Holden	+12.299
10th	Geoff Spencer	Holden	+12.880
11th	Stu Monteith	Holden	+20.280
12TH	Jeremy Hunt	Holden	+33.846