Triple X Motorsport driver Earl Bamber has etched his name in eternal history by winning the first Grand Prix of 2010, held at the New Zealand location of Manfeild today.

The sweetest Valentine's Day present for the 19-year-old, Wanganui based Bamber started the 35-lap race from the front row of the grid, taking the win by a half-second margin in the VnC Cocktails Mad Butcher Toyota FT40 car.

Following squally weather conditions in the Saturday build-up race that Bamber failed to finish, the all-important Grand Prix started under clear skies with a gentle breeze to subdue the summer heat.

With the longest race of the weekend ahead, Bamber started well, but had to settle for second behind the younger rival Mitch Evans. Then a safety car incident bunched the field that allowed Bamber to pressure for the advantage at the re-start with six laps to run .

A wet track and wheelspin off the line ruined Auckland schoolboy racer Mitch Evans’ perfect weekend as the Dan Higgins Trophy race got under way this afternoon at Manfeild near Palmerston North. 

Evans had qualified on pole for the race, but Earl Bamber had the better start and swept into the lead with Estonian driver Sten Pentus snatching second and forcing Evans back to third heading into the first corner. 

Columns of spray whipped up by the cars’ heavily treaded wet tyres meant most of the field entered the corner driving “blind” behind the first two cars. 

Evans had no answer to the speed of Pentus and Bamber in front of him as the field headed into the second lap.  Daniel Jilesen speared off the track at Higgins, the right hand corner that leads onto the back straight, but was able to recover and continue. 

Auckland schoolboy racer Mitch Evans has dominated qualifying for the New Zealand Grand Prix, going fastest in all three sessions today to take pole for this afternoon’s Dan Higgins Trophy race and for the Grand Prix itself.

In the two sessions that set grid positions for this afternoon’s race, Evans posted a 1:04.324 and then topped that with a 1:03.594.  Times from these sessions averaged across the best times of the third session would decide pole for the Grand Prix tomorrow afternoon.

Evans was pushed hardest in the first session.  Evans and Estonian Sten Pentus drove each other faster and faster, Evans finishing the first session fastest by just .066 seconds with Pentus setting a best time of 1:04.390.  

Third fastest was Earl Bamber in the Mad Butcher car.  He posted a best of 1:04.437

Toyota Racing Series category manager Barrie Thomlinson says a new lap record will be the admission price for drivers hoping to win the New Zealand Grand Prix this weekend.

"If it's fine, I think more than one of our racers will step below the lap record at Manfeild, in fact I think that is how we will see the Grand Prix title won.  There’s a group of racers who will dip under the record; the winner will most likely step onto the podium from that group," he said.

Though racers woke this morning to light drizzle and a forecast of afternoon showers, the forecast for Grand Prix Sunday is for clear skies.

Firday's test sessions saw times dip to within a second of Wanganui driver Earl Bamber's 2008 benchmark of 1:03.820.  Earlier on-track sessions in better weather saw the lap record unofficially smashed.