Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat led from start to finish to win the Dan Higgins Trophy race at Manawatu's Manfeild circuit today ahead of tomorrow's New Zealand grand prix.
Kvyat, 16, a member of the Red Bull Formula One team's junior development programme, got a clean start from pole position and showed a clean pair of heels to Auckland driver Mitch Evans.
Evans, who started beside Kvyat on the front row, appeared to be struggling for grip from his tyres early in the 20-lap race. He managed to claw back some of the gap in the latter stages of the race but was not close enough to launch a serious challenge on the Russian by the time the chequered flag dropped.
Australian Scott Pye finished third.
Leading results from Race 1 of the this weekend's Toyota motor racing series for the Dan Higgins Trophy race at Manfeild circuit today (NZ unless noted): Daniil Kvyat (Russia) 22min 00.449sec 1, Mitchell Evans 2, Scott Pye (Australia) 3, Mario Farnbacher (Germany) 4, Nick Foster (Australia) 5, Ivan Lukashevich (Russia) 6, Alastair Wootten 7, Damon Leitch 8, Alex Lynn (England) 9, Jordan Skinner (Australia) 10.