• Latest
  • Trending

Fast day of practice sets scene for Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series at Hampton Downs

April 21, 2023

NextGen NZ Championship unveils thrilling 2025/2026 Season: New categories, new stars, and the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix

June 18, 2025

McLaughlin and Van Gisbergen back behind the wheel in US Legends for Summer Shoot Out at Charlotte

June 17, 2025

Indy NXT: Hedge holds strong to finish inside Top 10 in tactical St Louis race

June 17, 2025

Whittaker wins as Chester excluded in dramatic NIERDC1-hour race at Hampton Downs

June 17, 2025

Reid and Fillmore fight back from a lap down to win thrilling NIERDC 3-Hour at Hampton Downs

June 17, 2025

Shane van Gisbergen wins historic first NASCAR Cup race in Mexico City

June 17, 2025
MONTREAL, QUEBEC - JUNE 15: Second placed Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and Race winner George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team celebrate on the podium with Champagne during the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool // SI202506150773 // Usage for editorial use only //

George Russell triumphs in tense Canadian Grand Prix as Lawson retires after difficult day

June 17, 2025

Toyota in the fight as 24 Hours of Le Mans enters final hours

June 17, 2025

Toyota Gazoo Racing fighting for positions at Le Mans

June 17, 2025

Yardley triumphs in Montreal thriller: First win in 2025 Porsche Carrera Cup North America

June 17, 2025

Lawson out in Q1 while Russell edges Verstappen for Canadian GP Pole

June 17, 2025
Wednesday, June 18, 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

Fast day of practice sets scene for Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series at Hampton Downs

by Velocity News
April 21, 2023
in NIERDC
0

A mixed bag of weather didn’t put off competitors in a full day of Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series practices at Hampton Downs today, with the times coming in thick and fast to showcase what shapes up to be a great day of racing tomorrow.

In a field full of talent, it was Nick Chester who set the benchmark early on in the new Marc GT, a 1:03.436 being the fastest time of the first session of the day in dry conditions.

The #909 Porsche 991.2 Cup MR of Francois Beziac and Tom Alexander also put in some solid times to pip Heremana Malmezac and Jono Lester’s #910 of the same car.

Luke Manson is also looking the goods in the #222 Porsche 991.2, with Steve Brooks and Bill Riding running strong in the always-impressive Wolfbrook Porsche early on before swapping to the newly acquired Audi R8 GT3 for the very next run.

As the track began to improve over the day, so did the times, with Jonny Reid and Sam Fillmore (Audi R8 LMS Evo 2) making a statement that they’re right in the mix to repeat their New Zealand Endurance Championship 3-Hour victory, setting a 1:01.254 around the midday mark.

The McLaren GT3 650S, being shared this weekend by Gene Rollinson, John DeVeth and Glenn Smith, set a time only four-tenths behind this, bringing the battle to the national champions.

Neither of those cars could top the Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Ant and Paul Pedersen, however, which set the fastest lap of the day, a mindblowing 1:00.980.

The Pedersen Mercedes was the fastest 3-Hour competitor of the day. Image: Neville Bailey

The ever-impressive Nissan GTR returns to the fold, driven by Lance Hughes and Chris van der Drift, who were quick and set a 1:02.785 just after lunch.

Christina Orr-West and Bree Morris are partnering up in the Dayle ITM Mercedes Benz AMG GT4 for the 3-Hour, both lapping consistently in the 1:07s.

The 1-Hour is shaping up to be a thriller, with no less than 22 cars taking to the track come race time.

Chester remains the pacesetter, his best of the day being 1:02.983. Beziac, Malmezac, Manson and Brooks all remain in close proximity, with a strong mid-pack also looking a chance of bridging the gap to the faster cars.

Nick Chester set the fastest time of 1-Hour competitors in the new Marc GT. Image: Neville Bailey

Among those is Nick Ross (Nissan Altima), Shaun Varney (BMW 318i), Adam Julian (Porsche 997-2) and Grant Aitken (Porsche GT4RS).

There’s also plenty of young talent taking to the track, including a return for Cormac Murphy (Toyota 86), a debut for Ayrton Hodson, who partners Brett Sullivan (Z4 M Coupe), and Clay Osborne (BMW M2), who is fresh off the back of his maiden Toyota 86 victory last week.

A full day of action at Hampton Downs begins with two early-morning practice sessions before 1-Hour qualifying at 9.40 am and 3-Hour qualifying at 10.10 am.

The 1-Hour begins racing at 11.05 am, with the 3-Hour beginning at 1.00 pm.

There is no fee to enter the circuit for spectators.

Tags: Hampton DownsNew Zealand Endurance ChampionshipNIERDC

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.