Christchurch racer Simon Hunter has been putting in the hard yards on and off-track as he aims to make a major step forward in the highly competitive Bridgestone GR86 Championship.
Hunter showed flashes of real speed in his first season and came back strongly after a major crash at Invercargill that, through no fault of his own, caused significant disruption to his first GR86 season.
Hunter completed the final rounds of the 2025 championship with the impressive new Right Karts by the M2 Competition team and has confirmed he will undertake the entire 2025-2026 season as part of the team.
He will be engineered by the vastly experienced Mark Pilcher and will run the same car that he used to complete his first season.
There’s been plenty of work off-track during the winter months, too, with Hunter getting plenty of seat time in karts with the team to stay sharp, and Hunter says he has also – for the first time – been using sim racing to help prepare for the six-round championship that lies ahead.
He and the team are hoping that it could add up to a winning campaign. “This year’s goal is to get on the podium a few times and ideally take a win. That’s the goal and to finish top five overall in the championship,” he explained.
“The big learning last season was the importance of qualifying in or as close as possible to the top ten. That is going to be crucial in helping produce the consistency across results that is needed in this championship, so that will be a big area of focus for me and the team.”
Last season’s sponsors AsIsWhereIs.co.nz and Joinery Co are back on Simon’s GR86 for the season, which gets underway in November at the Taupo International Motorsport Park.
Hunter’s campaign will include two rounds in the South Island and a second appearance at the Taupo Supercars event next April, the Bridgestone GR86 season finale.
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
