The Kiwis – Born to Fly story has now wrapped up shooting for this instalment of the series. Over the past weekend, the crew was in full swing at Road Atlanta during the IMSA Petit LeMans 10-hour.
Capturing a range of New Zealanders at the final IMSA event of the season, ranging from drivers to the many talents along pitlane, all with the common thread of New Zealand.
This provided a chance to add to the list of names already appearing in this edition and to showcase even more Kiwis on a global stage, which is the long-term aim of this series.
Adding to the many guests shot earlier this year, the team sat down with Ryan Yardley and Madeline Stewart in the Porsche North America Series.
While in the main prototype event, I spent time with drivers Earl Bamber, Tom Blomqvist, Scott Dixon and Hunter McElrea.
Behind the wall, key team personnel Steve Gough, Anton Julian and Jess Dane, along with a few others, including leading motorsport journalist Marshall Pruett.
”The dedication that these people give to the sport is truly exceptional, even more so when you witness it first hand, there is so much that you never even think of, the hours they all spend just getting to race day and the pack in, let alone an endurance event like this one plus the sheer size of it ”commented co producer Lyn Paton.
The production team were amazed by the massive lines at the fan zones, lining up to see our Kiwi drivers; the long lines for autographs showed just how much of a household name they all are.
The sports-car scene is certainly very strong, well managed, and the layout at Road Atlanta, to say the least, is daunting in the daylight, let alone at over 200kph in the dark.
In addition to this, time was recently spent with Brendon Hartley at the COTA WEC event last month.
“The scale of the event in Atlanta, let alone the actual circuit, was well beyond what I even imagined, a massive fan base with fans arriving days before the event for a total sell-out of the venue.
To think our Kiwis were some of the biggest stars across several classes was so fantastic,” said Producer David Turner.
“We hope that this gives more insight into the massive talent we have within the sport and our desire to continue to bring this to the screen and highlight the legacy of many, creating insightful viewing for fans of the sport and the general public.”
Shooting is now completed, the team head back to enter into the next month of post-production at Number 6 Post to format the balance of the show for screening in early 2026 with Sky NZ.
For those who missed the second edition of the CRC Motorsport show on Sunday afternoon on TV3, there will be one more encore screening in November.
Information on the screening details for this edition will follow in the coming months.
Presenting sponsors Mansons, Tasman Motorsports Group, Hampton Downs Academy, Creme Insurance, Giltrap Group, AutoPark, Racetech and Harcourt’s with FASTMASTER as an official clothing supplier.
The support of these fine sponsors enables this instalment of Kiwis – Born to Fly to happen, and we acknowledge their valuable contribution.
Header Image: Lyn Paton – Perspective Group
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