Tom Bewley is the latest young star to be confirmed for a drive in the Summerset GT New Zealand Championship at Hampton Downs this weekend, competing in a Porsche GT3 car that has been set to the same specification as the ones he will race in the Porsche Sprint Challenge in Australia this year.
Owned by Raana Horan, run by Mackenzie Motorsport and backed by Dura-Seal, who’ve supported Bewley since he entered car racing, it is the familiar gold and black car Bewley raced to second place on debut at the same track last year during the final round of the 2024 North Island Endurance Series.
“The main difference with the car for this weekend is the anti-locking brake system, ABS, has been removed so I can get used to driving the car like this, preparing for Australia,” said Bewley.
“ABS assists you in the braking so if you push the pedal too hard it won’t lock-up the tyre and give you a flat-spot. Without it you can get more feel and performance out of the brake, but you are at risk of locking up a tyre and causing a flat-spot, or going off,” he said.
Apart from being able to test a car prepared for the Australian rules, by entering a race meeting the just turned 17-year-old will get to experience qualifying and driving in three races as well.
“It’s hard to know where you’ll fit in as there’ll be a lot of different cars racing. We’ll just do our own thing and see where we are, but if I get confident with the car without ABS I’m sure I can be as quick as everybody else.”
After winning the Toyota 86 championship last season, Bewley was chosen by Porsche New Zealand as the latest recipient of their annual scholarship, which has seen a number of young Kiwi drivers graduate to higher levels of racing in Australia, including Supercars.
Supported by Team Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport, the Porsche Sprint Challenge has six rounds, starting in early April and finishing mid-November.
Others drivers confirmed for this weekend’s GT New Zealand Championship round include 2025 Super2 driver Ayrton Hodson, and Historic GP winner Kaleb Ngatoa, who will compete in Toyota Supra GT4s with Mark Mallard and Allan Sargeant, respectively.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder (Supplied)
