The top five drivers for the 2023 Team Porsche New Zealand (TPNZ) Scholarship have now been announced, giving each of them a shot at racing in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australian and Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series.
Each finalist will get behind the wheel of a Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup Car at Hampton Downs on October 11, 2022 with the team from Earl Bamber Motorsport making their way to New Zealand to assess their on track abilities.
In addition, the applicants will undergo athletic fitness and reaction testing, character interviews and media testing to identify the best applicant(s) to represent Porsche New Zealand in Australia in 2023.
The 2023 Scholarship recipient(s) will be announced on Sunday 6th November on the New Zealand current affairs show Sunday – airing on TVNZ 1 from 7.30pm.
2023 Team Porsche New Zealand Scholarship finalists:
Kaleb Ngatoa (21)
Starting his career in 2011 Kaleb Ngatoa has taken out five KartSport titles including three titles in 2015 at national, school, and North Island level.
In 2016 he won the Giltrap Group Kartsport New Zealand Sprint Championship in the Junior Rotax class and transitioned to circuit racing in the same year, winning the Formula First winter series, followed by second in the national championship in 2017.
After a season in the Toyota 86 Championship in 2018, he graduated to the Castrol Toyota Racing Series where Ngatoa took pole position for the New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park on debut. Ngatoa finished second in the 2021 Toyota Racing Series before taking up a chance to race in the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship and he won in his fifth race at Sandown International Motor Raceway.
Matthew Mccutcheon (19)
Matthew Mccutcheon’s racing career began in Speedway at age 9 after watching his father race at Western Springs as a child. After competing in Midget cars Mccutcheon made the transition to tarmac in 2019 with a Formula First scholarship and was the 2021 North Island Formula Ford champion with 14 race wins and 5 pole positions.
In 2022 Mccutcheon has taken out the Tony Quinn Foundation Scholarship to help him compete in the Toyota 86 Series, already achieving a race win in his rookie season.
Ronan Murphy (21)
Inspired by his father Greg Murphy, racing has been Ronan’s passion since a young age. Murphy took out the NZ Speedsport Scholarship Winner in 2018 and the NZ Formula First ‘Rookie of the Year’ award.
In 2019, Ronan competed in Formula Ford and won the Elite MotorSport Academy camp in July. In May 2020, Murphy was awarded the prestigious Ian Snellgrove Award as the overall Academy winner.
In 2020, Murphy competed in the Formula 4 United States Championship and Formula Pro Western Series achieving 2 podiums. Since 2021, he has been competing in the Toyota Racing 86 NZ Championship. In 2022, Murphy started his Porsche racing career competing in a 991 GT3 Cup Car in the South Island Endurance Championship (SIERDC) One-Hour race where he is currently 2nd in points in the class with 2 podium and a pole position.
Ryan Wood (18)
Ryan Wood is currently driving for Team Porsche New Zealand in the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Championship Australia. He hopes to secure the TPNZ sponsorship for another year to compete in the 2023 Carrera Cup Australia. Wood is currently placed 2nd in the championship with 3 rounds remaining, including taking out 3/3 poles and 3 race wins.
Throughout his karting career in 2014-2019, Wood took out 10 karting championships across NZ and Australia, including competing in 4 world championships.
In 2021, he was the outstanding driver in the One-Hour South Island Endurance Series, winning all 4 races, and took out the most wins in the 2021 Toyota 86 Championship.
Zac Stichbury (21)
Following in the motor racing footsteps of his late father Ashely Stichbury, Zac began his career in karting in 2014. In 2018, Stichbury won the NZ Schools Championships and the New Zealand Rotax Max Challenge, then went on to represent New Zealand in the World Grand Finals in Brazil. He has since progressed through Formula Ford and had success with pole positions and top 3 finishes.
In 2022 Zac has been pursuing the completion of his degree in Industrial Design at Auckland University of Technology whilst securing a drive in the Toyota 86 Championship gaining a pole, race win, and a rookie of the round award.
