Friday practice pace setter Chris White took pole position for the Bridgestone GR86 Championship opening race at Hampton Downs on Saturday morning, but young gun Arthur Broughan bagged the fastest time overall to take pole for Sunday’s feature race – and then went on to claim his first-ever series win in the opening encounter.
With a driver’s fastest time in qualifying defining their Race 3 grid position, and their second fastest time giving them a Race 1 grid slot, it meant that early fast laps were an absolute must for the quality field.
At the flag, it was White’s second-best effort that was good enough for pole position for the Saturday season opener, and Broughan’s outright fastest time in the session secured pole for Sunday’s big feature race.
“I’m pretty stoked to get that lap in and take pole for Sunday,” said Broughan afterwards.
“I’ll start third for the first race, but I’m also pretty happy with that. It’s a great start and I’m delighted to be at the sharp end of what is an exceptional quality field.”
Conditions around the 4km international layout of Hampton Downs were perfect, and it was Broughan who led the early running on times – benefiting no doubt from input from experienced racer Kaleb Ngatoa – while champion Hugo Allan was also on the early pace in the 20-minute session.
On outright lap times, Broughan’s first flying effort resulted in a very quick 1 minute 48.150 lap, and that proved to be the best of the session.
Champion Allan was closest with a 1.48.301, but that still left Broughan – by Toyota 86 standards – with a healthy margin at the front of one and a half tenths.
That meant pole position for the feature race ahead of Allan, Josh Bethune, and White, while White’s next fastest lap gave him Race 1 pole position.
Qualifying 1 Results:
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Team | Nationality |
| 1 | 88 | Chris WHITE | Neale Motorsport | NZ |
| 2 | 1 | Hugo ALLAN | iMac Engineering | NZ |
| 3 | 222 | Arthur BROUGHAN | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 4 | 32 | Josh BETHUNE | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 5 | 10 | Ajay GIDDY | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 6 | 90 | Zach BLINCOE | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 7 | 22 | Lee ZELTWANGER | CareVets Racing | NZ |
| 8 | 73 | Harry TOWNSHEND | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 9 | 42 | Simon HUNTER | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 10 | 43 | Cameron HILL | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 11 | 92 | Mac TEMPLETON | Neale Motorsport | NZ |
| 12 | 186 | Cooper BARNES | Right Karts by M2 Competition | AUS |
| 13 | 81 | Cormac MURPHY | Syndicate Motorsport | NZ |
| 14 | 25 | Lucas MCGILL | James Marshall Motorsport | NZ |
| 15 | 99 | Justin ALLEN | Syndicate Motorsport | NZ |
Qualifying 2 Results:
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Team | Nationality |
| 1 | 222 | Arthur BROUGHAN | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 2 | 1 | Hugo ALLAN | iMac Engineering | NZ |
| 3 | 32 | Josh BETHUNE | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 4 | 88 | Chris WHITE | Neale Motorsport | NZ |
| 5 | 73 | Harry TOWNSHEND | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 6 | 90 | Zach BLINCOE | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 7 | 22 | Lee ZELTWANGER | CareVets Racing | NZ |
| 8 | 10 | Ajay GIDDY | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 9 | 42 | Simon HUNTER | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 10 | 92 | Mac TEMPLETON | Neale Motorsport | NZ |
| 11 | 43 | Cameron HILL | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 12 | 186 | Cooper BARNES | Right Karts by M2 Competition | AUS |
| 13 | 81 | Cormac MURPHY | Syndicate Motorsport | NZ |
| 14 | 99 | Justin ALLEN | Syndicate Motorsport | NZ |
| 15 | 25 | Lucas MCGILL | James Marshall Motorsport | NZ |
Race 1 –
A cracking first race in the 2025–2026 Bridgestone GR86 Championship saw Blenheim’s Arthur Broughan take his debut win after front row drivers Chris White and Hugo Allan were both given five-second penalties for a jumped start.
Broughan raced hard despite a scare on the dummy grid when his car wouldn’t start, and he needed a push start to get out onto the track for the race.
On track a few moments later, Allan edged forward a millisecond or so before the lights went out, and that triggered White to also go.
It was certainly marginal, but there was movement before the lights went out, and race officials immediately penalised Allan and then on-the-road-winner White not long after the race finished.
Once the dust had settled, the finishing order was Broughan first, Bethune second, and Zach Blincoe third. Broughan was delighted to have taken his first championship win.
“It’s great to take that first win even in these circumstances as we had plenty of speed in the race,” said Broughan afterwards.
“We start from pole in the feature race tomorrow afternoon, and in the morning, we’ll just try and move forward in the reverse top eight race. The focus will be on securing good points from both races.”
Despite admitting to being very rusty after the season lay-off, Bethune was satisfied with second in the race and promised more as the cobwebs continued to clear.
“We are always looking to go faster, and I definitely know there is a lot more to come from me and the car, so we’ll see how we go tomorrow,” he said.
Blincoe made solid progress throughout the race and enjoyed a fine dice throughout with Bethune, but he, too, could be content with solid points on the board.
“I’ll take that,” said the New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy graduate. “We’ve got a bit of work to do, but we have pace and I am confident we can build on today.”
Once the penalties had been applied, Ajay Giddy and Winter Trophy Series winner Lee Zeltwanger wound up fourth and fifth, while White and Allan ended up sixth and seventh.
Behind those two, Cooper Barnes showed why he will be a threat this season after storming from the back to eighth place at the chequered flag.
Simon Hunter and Harry Townshend also had busy races peppered with some wild moments, but survived well to finish ninth and tenth, respectively.
Race 1 Results:
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Team | Nationality |
| 1 | 222 | Arthur BROUGHAN | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 2 | 32 | Josh BETHUNE | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 3 | 90 | Zach BLINCOE | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 4 | 10 | Ajay GIDDY | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 5 | 22 | Lee ZELTWANGER | CareVets Racing | NZ |
| 6 | 88 | Chris WHITE | Neale Motorsport | NZ |
| 7 | 1 | Hugo ALLAN | iMac Engineering | NZ |
| 8 | 186 | Cooper BARNES | Right Karts by M2 Competition | AUS |
| 9 | 42 | Simon HUNTER | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 10 | 73 | Harry TOWNSHEND | Mackenzie Motorsport | NZ |
| 11 | 43 | Cameron HILL | Right Karts by M2 Competition | NZ |
| 12 | 81 | Cormac MURPHY | Syndicate Motorsport | NZ |
| 13 | 99 | Justin ALLEN | Syndicate Motorsport | NZ |
| 14 | 92 | Mac TEMPLETON | Neale Motorsport | NZ |
| 15 | 25 | Lucas MCGILL | James Marshall Motorsport | NZ |
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
