Todd Hazelwood in Townsville. Photo: Dirk Klynsmith

DUNLOP SERIES rookie Todd Hazelwood has moved to seventh in the championship, after a successful debut at the Reid Park circuit held on the streets of Townsville.

The 18-year-old had a challenging weekend, finishing Race 1 in eighth and Race 2 an impressive 13th, after being taken out on the final corner early in the race, recovering from a bad situation to finish towards the top ten.

The Thomas Steel Racing driver was also setting some of the fastest times in the race, despite being in traffic.

“Yesterday I was unfortunate to be turned around during the early stages of the race … it was a shame as the car was well balanced and we were one of the fastest cars on the track,” Hazelwood said.

“That’s racing though, when you’re racing hard unfortunately these things happen but we made the most out of a bad situation.

“I was pleased to finish 13th after falling back to 26th, it was fantastic to use sheer pace and determination to drive through the pack and pass cars left, right and centre.

“I was hoping the race was five laps longer, as I caught up to the tail end of the top ten.”

The South Australian managed to finish tenth for Round 4 of the Dunlop Series, and is looking to further his championship position at the next round in Ipswich.

“Overall, we must remain positive and use this to our advantage to bounce back stronger at Ipswich in a months’ time,” the teenager continued.

“We will have a test day in-between now and the next round, hoping to find more car speed.

“Ipswich will be a strong round as I have done plenty of testing laps around there, unlike every other circuit I’ve raced at this year.”

Hazelwood is currently seventh in the Dunlop Series on 666 points, and is currently leading the rookie standings in the championship.

The next round of the Dunlop Series will be held at Matt Stone Racing’s home circuit Queensland Raceway, on 1-3 August.