Fillmore and Reid rocket to victory in thrilling NIERDC 3-Hour Grand Finale at Hampton Downs

Audi duo Jonny Reid and Sam Fillmore steal the show with dominant win and outright pace in a dramatic end to the 2025 North Island Endurance Series.

Reid delivered a masterclass at Hampton Downs on Sunday afternoon, blazing to victory in the final round of the 2025 North Island Endurance Series 3-Hour Championship alongside teammate Fillmore.

The pair clinched the overall win and the 3-Hour title in spectacular fashion, with Reid smashing lap records and holding off a late charge from Daniel Gaunt in an enthralling closing stint.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Fillmore and Reid’s Audi R8 LMS was on a mission from the outset. Pole-sitter Steve Brooks made a clean getaway and controlled the early stages, pulling out a lead of over six seconds in the first half hour while Fillmore worked his way up the order.

Brock Gilchrist initially held second, but Fillmore surged past both Gilchrist and Max Vidau in the opening laps, setting successive fastest laps as he moved into podium contention.

By the one-hour mark, Fillmore had climbed into second after a well-timed move on Gilchrist and began reeling in Brooks, who continued to set an impressive pace out front. But the momentum shifted during the first round of pit stops.

Brooks and co-driver Bill Riding lost close to 30 seconds during their driver change, allowing Fillmore (who stayed in the car for a double stint) to leap into the lead with a 28-second buffer.

Trouble struck for early front-runners Gilchrist and Glen Cotterill, who lost over a minute in the pits as they struggled to strap Cotterill into the #912 Porsche. The delay dropped them out of contention for the podium after running in the top three for the opening stint.

As pit strategies played out across the field, Fillmore handed over to Reid for the final leg with just over an hour to go. And from there, it became the Jonny Reid show.

Straight out of the lane, Reid stunned the field by clocking a 1:32.074 lap on just his third circuit, a new fastest time of the race. But he wasn’t done. He continued to lower the benchmark, eventually stopping the clocks at an electrifying 1:31.628, a lap that left the rest of the field in his wake.

Just as Reid took the wheel, a full-course caution bunched the field with two hours complete, a twist that reset the race and gave chasing rivals a second chance. But even with the pressure mounting behind, Reid didn’t blink.

On the restart, he stretched a small gap over Riding while Gaunt, now in the #36 Mercedes AMG GT3 after taking over from Glen Brazier, attacked hard for second. Gaunt made the move stick on Riding to take over runner-up honours, but Reid had already bolted.

Behind them, Ronan Murphy, who had taken over the #89 Lamborghini Huracan from Kane Lawson, was flying. Despite being a lap down, Murphy matched the leaders’ pace. The young Kiwi was the second-fastest driver on track and was desperately hoping for a late safety car to bring him back on the lead lap.

It didn’t come, but he still crossed the line to bring the car home in fourth place.

The battle for fifth raged late into the race, with John McIntyre (in the #18 Porsche) making up ground to leap past both Sam and Glenn Cotterill in the final stint, securing P5 with co-driver Simon Gilbertson.

With the race shortened slightly due to curfew, the chequered flag flew after 103 laps, and it was Reid and Fillmore who took a commanding and richly deserved win.

Their dominance was underlined by their pace, strategy, and Reid’s breathtaking final stint that shattered lap time benchmarks at Hampton Downs and clinched the 3-hour overall 2025 North Island Endurance Championship.

Final Results – 2025 NIERDC 3-Hour Finale

Header Image: Matt Smith