Rick Armstrong has won the GT New Zealand Championship for the third consecutive year, beating fellow Porsche driver Nigel Cromie to the title by 92 points – the Championship decided in the final race of the season at Ruapuna over the weekend. Third in the Championship standings was Sam Fillmore.
Armstrong also won the Porsche Endurance Trophy New Zealand title for the second time.
It capped yet another remarkable season for Armstrong, seldom off the podium, with the highlight a clean sweep at Round 3 at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell.
In the GT4 Class, it was season newcomer Glen Chappel who took the Championship win in his Race Lab-prepared Toyota Supra GT4 EVO 2. Chappel sealed the Championship with one race to spare, beating Glen Aitken by 145.25 points – Aitken campaigning his season in a Porsche Cayman GT4 and an Audi R8 GT4.
Chappel shared his car throughout the season with a number of co-drivers, but notably three rounds with Australian youngster Lachlann Evennett – the duo dominant in what was a close GT4 field.
Third in the GT4 Championship was Allan Sargeant, also from the Race Lab team, driving a Toyota Supra GT4 EVO 2.
Grant Aitken also picked up the GT4 Masters title for the season.
The round at Ruapuna, Christchurch, this weekend saw four races.
In Open Class, Tom Alexander picked up a win in race one, sharing the car for the weekend with Cromie. Nigel Cromie won race two, Regan Scoullar won race three, while Armstrong won the fourth and final race.
In GT4, William Exton won race one, Lachlan Evennett won the second, Greg Murphy won race three, and Matt Day took out the fourth race of the weekend.
Nigel Cromie was the round winner for Open Class, while Matt Day was the round winner in GT4.
Header Image: Tayler Burke/Shots By TayB
