Tanner Foust completed a perfect event by dominating the final of the first part of the Red Bull Global Rallycross Thompson double header.
The Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross driver claimed pole position earlier in the day, before going on to take a clean sweep of three heat wins and a semi final victory.
Foust made a perfect getaway in the final, which was initially restarted after contact between Sebastian Eriksson and Scott Speed. The contact saw Speed sustain damage although he was able to restart. Eriksson meanwhile was moved to the back of the grid for the restart.
Again Foust was unstoppable at the launch, while Speed was shuffled down the order once more. Mitchell De Jong emerged from the early scuffle in second place with Austin Dyne holding a surprise third place.
Dyne was unable to hold onto the position however, with the recovering Speed passing him as the race entered its second lap. This left Dyne in the clutches of fellow Ford privateer Steve Arpin, who after a close battle got ahead for fourth by taking his joker on lap three, one lap earlier than Dyne.
Up front, Foust was increasing his lead lap-by-lap holding an advantage of three and a half seconds at the halfway point, while his VARX team mate Speed was applying the pressure on De Jong for the second spot.
The youngster held his ground in the battle with the two-time defending champion, who briefly got past on the penultimate lap, only to fall behind once again as he lost momentum.
However, on the final turn of the race, Speed one again made it past the 2015 Lites champion, this time making the move stick to take second place after a masterful recovery drive. De Jong had to settle for third, his maiden Supercars podium.
Foust meanwhile won the race by 7.8 seconds to once again move to the top of the all-time wins table, equal with Speed.
Arpin finished fourth, ahead of Dyne who secured his best result since MCAS New River in July last year.
Patrik Sandell was sixth after engine issues hampered his day, he finished one spot ahead of Subaru team mate Chris Atkinson. Cabot Bigham was the final finisher in eighth place.
Winner of the previous round Sebastian Eriksson ended up retiring on the third lap of the race, while Oliver Eriksson also failed to make the finish.
Foust’s win, his first of the year, puts him within just two points of Speed in the points standings, while Arpin maintains third despite finishing off the podium for the first time this year.
Cyril Raymond has now won Lites races on both sides of the Atlantic – Credit: Louis Yio/Red Bull GRC
In Red Bull GRC Lites, Cyril Raymond took his first win of the year. The Frenchman, who is also defending his RX2 championship crown this season, beat Louisville winner Christian Brooks with Travis PeCoy taking third.
Championship leader Conner Martell had a day to forget, taking tenth place after only completing six laps in the 10 lap final.
