New Zealand’s Ayrton Hodson will drive an ex-Will Davison Ford Mustang in the 2025 Dunlop Series. He joins Ryan Tomsett at Anderson Motorsport for the campaign as the team expands to two cars.
The Tauranga-based teenager was a standout performer in the 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge, finishing fifth in the standings, having taken two podiums and finished in the top 10 in every race, with the exception of a debut-race DNF.
He also won the 2023 Class 4 & 5 New Zealand 1-Hour Endurance Championship alongside Brett Sullivan in a BMW Z4, following his rookie Toyota 86 Championship campaign. Other accomplishments include a race win in the Summer GT New Zealand Championship, and claiming the prestigious Ian Snellgrove Trophy for topping the Elite Motorsport Academy class of 2023.
Off the tarmac, Hodson is an accomplished Sprintcar driver registered to Baypark Speedway. Over the summer, he will take to North Island ovals, going up against the likes of Shane van Gisbergen.
“It’s super exciting,” Hodson told Australian publisher V8 Sleuth. “Supercars has always been a dream of mine, my first Supercars event in person was the last one at Pukekohe (in 2022), and I was hooked.
“It’s going to be different from racing a Porsche, which I’ve done for the last year and a half now, but it’s a great opportunity and being in the thick of it all with Supercars is all surreal.
“We’ll have a few tests before the first round in Sydney, which is where I had my last round in Sprint Challenge, so there’s a bit of muscle memory there that will help.Those tests will be crucial to maximise things as much as I can.”
The pathway of jumping from the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia to Super2 was one followed by Walkinshaw Andretti United star Ryan Wood, who took five wins on his way to third in the 2023 championship before being promoted to the main game.
The 2025 Dunlop Series begins at Sydney on February 21-23 and has rounds in Tasmania, Townsville, Ipswich, and Bathurst before concluding in Adealide on November 27-30.
2025 Dunlop Series Calendar
| February 21-23 | Sydney Motorsport Park |
| May 9-11 | Symmons Plains, Tasmania |
| July 11-13 | Reid Park Street Circuit, Townsville |
| August 8-10 | Queensland Raceway, Ipswich |
| October 9-12 | Mount Panorama, Bathurst |
| November 27-30 | Adelaide Street Circuit |
Header Image: Blissful Motorsport Photography (Jessica Barnes)
