Lockdown is still in full swing, but fortunately there are plenty of Kiwis racing overseas to keep you entertained this weekend.
Supercars begins the first of four, back-to-back weekends at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Brendon Hartley and Jaxon Evans are in Bahrain for the penultimate World Endurance Championship round.
Callum Hedge returns to single-seaters for the first time since 2019 for the final Formula Regional European round.
And Earl Bamber and Craig Corliss is in Buriram for the opening weekend of the Thai Super Series.
Supercars contingent
- What: Sydney SuperNight
- Where: Sydney Motorsport Park, Australia
- When: R1 SAT 9.10 pm | R2 SUN 2.45 pm | R3 SUN 6.25 pm
- How to follow: Sky Sport
Remember Supercars?
Don’t stress if you don’t. After all, it’s been 14 weeks since the series last had a race weekend.
After several postponements and cancellations, it seems the series has anchored down its plan to complete the 2021 championship.
And it begins this weekend, the first of a month of racing at Sydney Motorsport Park.
This weekend’s racing is under lights, with some teams taking up the opportunity to dazzle up their cars.
Whether those cosmetic changes can help anyone catch Shane van Gisbergen is a probable no.
Van Gisbergen has easily been the best driver this year, winning 11 races and twice having victory streaks of more than four.
He holds a 276 point lead over Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup in the driver’s championship and is the prime spot to claim a second title.
Andre Heimgartner is 12th in the standings, and Fabian Coulthard is in 23rd.
Brendon Hartley and Jaxon Evans
- What: 6 Hours of Bahrain
- Where: Sakhir International Circuit, Bahrain
- When: SAT 9 pm
- How to follow: Sky Sport
WEC has also been out of action since August’s Le Mans 24 Hour.
With two races left to play out, Brendon Hartley is in a competitive position to win his third WEC title.
The No.8 Toyota Hypercar is nine points behind the No.7 Toyota, with 65 up for grabs.
Only three cars are entered in the Hypercar class for both weekends: the Toyota pair and the grandfathered LMP1, so it should be a straight dog fight between the No.8 and No.7.
If Hartley can win the title, it’ll be his first with the Toyota team. He won his 2015 and 2017 crowns with Porsche before joining Toyota in 2019.
After two DNFs to start the year, Jaxon Evans and the No.77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche has picked up top-fives in the past two races.
The team is tenth in the GTE-Am standings but can easily rocket up the ladder with more solid results.
Callum Hedge
- What: Formula Regional Europe
- Where: Monza, Italy
- When: R1 SUN 1.45 am | R2 SUN 11.10 pm
- How to follow: YouTube live stream
Callum Hedge’s 2021 hasn’t shaped out as he had would’ve liked.
The budding Kiwi Porsche driver went to Australia to compete in the Michelin Sprint Challenge, but lockdowns mean he hasn’t raced for several months.
The opportunity to race at Monza is more for Hedge to stay race fit than anything else, but you can expect him to give his all to challenge for a win.
Formula Regional uses a Formula 3 car nearly identical to the Toyota Racing Series cars used in New Zealand.
Hedge has never raced at Monza before but will have ample testing time to get up to speed.
Earl Bamber and Craig Corliss
- What: Thai Super Series
- Where: Chang International Circuit, Thailand
- When: R1 SAT 9.25 pm | R2 SUN 6.30 pm
- How to follow: YouTube live stream
The first of two Thailand Super Series rounds this season is this weekend at the Chang International Circuit.
Earl Bamber is racing in the Supercar GT3 class in a Porsche 991 GT3R with Piti Bhirombhakdi.
Craig Corliss will get behind the wheel of the new TAV8 Ford Mustang unveiled over the weekend and will race in the Supercar GTM class.
Both classes race on the same grid, and they will have one race on Saturday and another on Sunday.
