• Latest
  • Trending

Emma Gilmour: Battle of Jacks Ridge could be NZ’s next ‘Race to the Sky’

October 5, 2020

Bamber back on the podium as Toyota endures tough São Paulo return

July 15, 2025
#88: Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Red Bull Chevrolet

“Nobody Can Run With Him”: Denny Hamlin and Co. hail SVG’s road course dominance after Sonoma victory

July 15, 2025

Consistent Hedge claims third-straight P6 at Iowa Speedway

July 15, 2025

Chaos and heartbreak for Kiwis in Porsche Sprint Challenge in Townsville

July 15, 2025

Baypark Speedway secures long-term future through to 2039 after council approval

July 15, 2025

Palmer cleans up the Taranaki Tarmac Rally; increases lead in NI Rally Series

July 15, 2025

Kiwi Domination in Berlin: Evans and Cassidy clinch double victory for Jaguar TCS Racing

July 14, 2025

Dixon, McLaughlin and Armstrong impress at Iowa: Podiums, comebacks, and title moves

July 14, 2025

SVG makes history with thrilling Sonoma victory – Wins third straight road course from pole

July 14, 2025

Cormac Buchanan battles to career-best Moto3 finish in wild German Grand Prix

July 13, 2025

Feeney dominates in Townsville strategy game as Kiwis make gains with Payne finishing P5 and Wood P7

July 13, 2025
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
VelocityNews
Subscribe
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Emma Gilmour: Battle of Jacks Ridge could be NZ’s next ‘Race to the Sky’

Photos: Geoff Ridder

by Matthew Hansen
October 5, 2020
in New Zealand, Rally
0

New Zealand Rally Championship regular Emma Gilmour has heaped praise on the local rallying scene’s newest event; the Repco Battle of Jack Ridge.

Taking place next month on November 15, the Whitford, Auckland event sprint event will pit a host of Gilmour’s NZRC peers against a who’s who list of domestic racers; including Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, Race to the Sky veteran Ian Ffitch, D1NZ title winner Darren Kelly, speedway ace Michael Pickens, and former NZRC champ Hayden Paddon.

Gilmour got her first taste of the venue from behind the wheel at its recent media day, performing laps in her 220kW/400Nm Suzuki Swift Sport Maxi, and the Dunedin-based racer was “blown away”.

“When we were told Andrew [Hawkeswood] was building a track at his farm, you sort of think ‘ah, just a track’. [But] I’m just absolutely blown away by this. Its purpose built and so much thought has gone into it,” Gilmour told Velocity News.

“It isn’t simply just a road through a farmland. The banking, the camber, the radius, everything makes it a real pleasure to drive. You can really attack the corners as a rally driver, you can get the car sideways, you can put on a real spectacle, which is what will make it so amazing as a spectator event.”

Gilmour is among the profiles hopeful that the inaugural event could be the start of something big for the sport in New Zealand.

“It’s got the potential for it to be Auckland’s ‘Race to the Sky’. I know it’s not a race to the sky, but in terms of as an event that was what was so special about it — spectators were there with drivers at the pits, you got to watch it all,” she said.

“Motorsport has that ability where you can take it to the masses, and that makes it really exciting. And it’s great to compete at an event like that, because you’re putting on a show. We’re all hooked on the buzz of motorsport, but being able to show people why it’s so exciting and what’s so great about it is great.”

The former NZRC round winner is one of numerous drivers entered in the sprint who will be coming off competing in the City of Auckland Rally, which comes to a close the day prior. Gilmour expects the two events to test drivers in different ways, namely in terms of surface changes and repetition.

“This [Jacks Ridge] will keep getting faster and faster, but it will become more of a challenge because the surface will change as well. With a rally you basically get that one hit with the pace note and the co-driver calling it,” she said.

“This will start to become a learned repetition type thing, so things probably become a 110 per cent thing with how much we’ll be pushing, especially with elements like the jumps and how much people are willing to risk damaging their cars to gain a few tenths of a second. 

“In a rally you’ve got to preserve your car for about 200km. This will be a bit more do or die.”

“I think we’re really really lucky to have this event. WRC would have been amazing, but at this event the Kiwis are the stars. Having the likes of Shane van Gisbergen competing brings so much interest to the event, and also in a year when there aren’t that many live exciting events happening it’s also pretty cool. The amount of media attention and exposure we’re getting is great for the sport.”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.