The opening day of the 2026/27 NextGen NZ Championship at Taupō International Motorsport Park delivered plenty of action on Saturday, with close finishes, maiden victories and late-race drama across eight races.
Seven championships took to the circuit throughout the day, with the GT New Zealand Championship, Bridgestone GR86 Championship, TA2 New Zealand and several other categories getting their respective weekends underway.
GT New Zealand Championship
The opening race of the GT New Zealand Championship saw 20-year-old Oliver Gibbons make an impressive debut, claiming victory in the Porsche Endurance Trophy following a last-lap pass on Sam Fillmore.
GT4 delivered plenty of action, with Lachlan Evennett coming out on top after a close battle with Caleb Paterson in the Silver Am class. Matt Day secured GT4 Silver honours, while Allan Sargeant took victory in GT4 Am.
The championship returned to the track later in the day for its first 45-minute Enduro of the season, where Nigel Cromie delivered a commanding drive to claim the Porsche Endurance Trophy. Starting fourth, Cromie quickly moved to the front before taking control of the race.
Fillmore crossed the line second but was handed a post-race time penalty, dropping him to third and promoting Gibbons to second.
In GT4, reigning champion Glen Chappel and Evennett combined to take Silver Am honours aboard their RaceLab Toyota GR Supra. The McLaren pairings of Caleb Paterson and Kent Quinn, and Josh Bethune and Wei Zhou, completed the overall GT4 podium.
It was a disappointing end to the race for Day, whose Mercedes-AMG GT4 came to a halt on the front straight. Sargeant also had a challenging outing, recovering from two late spins to secure another GT4 Am victory.
Bridgestone GR86 Championship
Fifteen-year-old Ajay Giddy made a perfect start to his Bridgestone GR86 Championship campaign, turning a dominant qualifying performance into his maiden race win at Taupō.
From pole position, the Auckland teenager made a clean getaway and quickly built a small advantage over Lucas McGill, who remained his closest challenger throughout the ten-lap encounter.
Giddy gradually extended his lead to around one second by lap seven and maintained the gap to the chequered flag, securing his first victory in his third season of the championship.
McGill finished second to claim his first championship podium, while Harry Townshend produced one of the race’s standout moves to snatch third from rookie Miles Baker on the final lap.
Baker had held third for much of the race, but Townshend got a strong exit from Turn 13 and used the slipstream down the back straight before making a late-braking move into the final chicane to take the position.
Baker settled for fourth, finishing as the highest-placed rookie, while Australian debutant Romeo Nasr completed the top five.
Cameron Hill finished sixth ahead of Mac Templeton, Nieko Scoles, Justin Allen and Tayler Mitchell, who rounded out the top ten on his GR86 Championship debut.
Further back, Nathan Grammer recovered from the rear of the grid to finish 11th after a suspension failure disrupted his qualifying session.
The championship returns on Sunday morning for its second race, featuring a reverse top-eight grid. Scoles will start from pole alongside Templeton, while Saturday’s front-runners will have to work their way through the field.
TA2 New Zealand Championship
The visiting Australians took the honours in the opening SP Tools TA2 New Zealand Championship race, with Supercars racer Declan Fraser leading home compatriot Jarrod Hughes for an Australian one-two finish.
Toby Elmiger was the highest-placed New Zealander, crossing the line third to complete the overall podium.
Peter Ward also enjoyed a successful start to the weekend, taking victory in the Masters class.
Mazda Racing Super Series
Simon Baker claimed victory in a closely fought opening Mazda Racing Super Series race at Taupō, taking the lead on the final lap to secure his first win of the weekend.
The Kāpiti racer started fourth after Stu Lawton topped qualifying ahead of James Black and Jesse Gould.
Lawton initially led into the first corner before Black fought back, and the pair traded positions early on. Behind them, Baker worked his way past championship leader Bryan Walker on lap three to move into third.
Lawton reclaimed the lead from Black on lap five, but the battle was far from over, with Black briefly returning to the front before Lawton passed him again. Baker continued to close the gap, moving past Black for second on lap eight before making the decisive move on Lawton at the opening corner of the final lap.
He went on to take victory by 0.958 seconds over Lawton, with Black completing the podium after ten laps of close racing. Lawton also recorded the fastest lap. Walker finished fourth ahead of Gould, while Mark Oudney was disqualified from sixth following a technical breach, promoting Rudi Kronstrom into the position.
The Mazda Racing Super Series returns on Sunday for two further races, beginning with a 12-lap reverse top-ten grid encounter, followed by a 10-lap finale with the grid determined by accumulated round points.
NZ Porsche Racing Championship
Ethan Hourigan claimed victory in the opening NZ Porsche Racing Championship race following an action-packed encounter at Taupō.
There were several close battles and dramatic moments throughout the field, but Hourigan emerged on top when the chequered flag fell. Ashton McCaughan recovered to finish second, with Duncan McCrostie rounding out the overall podium in third.
GTRNZ Championship – 1/2 Class
John De Veth took victory in a dramatic opening GTRNZ 1/2 race after a close battle with Cameron Jones ended prematurely.
The pair had been fighting for the lead before a mechanical failure forced Jones out of contention, leaving De Veth to take the win. Grant Brennan finished second, while Brady Wild managed to hold on to third despite his car producing smoke in the closing stages.
GTRNZ Championship – 3/4 Class
The GTRNZ 3/4 field produced one of the closest finishes of the day, with Jeff Sharp taking victory by just three-tenths of a second. Starting third, Sharp worked his way to the front before holding off Gregory Kroef in a closely fought finish.
Mark Mallard crossed the line just one-tenth behind Kroef to complete the podium, also recording the fastest lap of the race. It was a disappointing outing for polesitter Aidan Robson, who retired after completing just five laps.
Racing continues on Sunday
The opening round of the 2026/27 NextGen NZ Championship continues at Taupō International Motorsport Park tomorrow, Sunday, November 15, with another full day of racing across the categories.
Day two’s action gets underway at 9:00am, with GTRNZ 3/4 Race 2 opening Sunday’s programme.
Header Photo: Next Gen NZ
