Chris White Junior will head to Taupo International Motorsport Park this weekend looking to extend his early lead in the 2023/2024 Mazda Racing Series North Island Championship.
The 16-year-old who is contesting, and leading, both the North and South Island Championship’s won two of the three races and finished second in the other to win the opening round at Manfield Circuit Chris Amon last month from reigning National Champion Simon Baker and Leo Bult.
White Jnr holds a 12-point lead over Baker and, with the Wellington driver absent this weekend, will be looking to extend it. Bult will be there however, and will no doubt provide White Jnr with some of his toughest competition. Other prominent competitors include Aucklander’s Warren Crowther, Karl Gaines and Nigel Edger.
Many of the series other top contenders will be on the extremely healthy 23-car grid, with two interesting newcomers adding plenty of interest this weekend.
South African Stiaan Kriel has raced to success in his home country in the VW Polo Cup and the South African Endurance Series. He moved to Auckland earlier this year and debuts in the series this weekend.
Another Aucklander, Callum Pratt, comes from the OK Cup where, he too, has had some good results.
Two more drivers, James Parker and Leon Davis, return to the fray this weekend after missing Round 1.
This weekend is the opening round of the Super Sprint Motorsport New Zealand Championship and theMazda Racing Series North Island Championship competitors have two practice sessions on Friday, the first at 9.50am and the other at 2.35pm, before qualifying at 9.52am on Saturday morning.
The first race of the round follows that afternoon with a 10-lap contest at 1.51pm, before a 12-lap race, featuring a reverse top 10 grid from Saturday’s race order, at 9.06am on Sunday morning, before the finale, a 10-lap race at 1.39pm that afternoon.
Race 3 will be shown live on Sky Sport 5.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
Words & Images: Supplied
