The leaderboards of both One-Hour Racer Products South Island Endurance Series races held in Christchurch on Saturday have had a shakeup after the second round was held at the Euromarque Motorsport Park in Ruapuna. Winner of the Class 2 & 3 race, Jordan Michels (MARC Mustang), has taken the lead in both overall and Class 2 (GT Type) while Pel Arnott (Hyundai I30N TCR) won the Class 4 & 5 race, moving to the top of the leaderboard.
Having suffered some bad luck at the opening round on his home track in Invercargill, Michels made sure of winning the Class 2&3 race. Initially it was fastest qualifier Jaden Ransley (Pace Inovations IRC GT) that took the lead only to suffer problems and eventually retire. Michels took over the lead early in the race and was rarely threatened.
“An exciting hour,” said Michels. “We struggled yesterday in testing but had an awesome car today with no issues so thanks to the team. We had some hard luck last round so now looking forward to Timaru (final third round).”
A strong performance from Round 1 winner, Hugh Gardiner (Porsche 991.2), saw him hold second for most of the race, only to retire on the final lap with an expired engine. This elevated John Goodacre (Pace Innovations IRC GT Mustang) to second and his first podium, and Luke and Seb Manson (Porsche GT3) into third.
“That’s a great result for the team,” said Goodacre. “Things happen in racing. We were able to have an awesome race, my first podium in a NZ series.”
It was an incident filled race with several Safety Car periods and the race stopped under red flag conditions when the #5 Porsche of Matt Williams and Jayden Dodge hit the wall after ‘Pothole’. Adam Julian (Audi GT3), having finished second in the opening round, also struggled with car issues and eventually finished four-laps down.
Michels now takes a 12-point lead in the overall standings ahead of Goodacre with the Porsche GT3 Cup 992 of Steve Brooks and Bill Riding moving up into third ahead of Paul Kelly (Porsche 992 Cup Car and Julian in fifth.
Sixth overall is Steve Scoles (Ginetta G56) who was the first Class 3 (>3501cc) home. He leads Class 3 ahead of James Paterson (Audi R8 Turbo) and David Rogers (McLaren 570s GT4).
Pel Arnott had a faultless Class 4&5 race taking overall and Class 4 victory. It was a Hyundai I30N TCR podium with Dylan Petch finishing second ahead of Blake Knowles. Fourth home was round one winner, Warren Black (Audi RS3 LMS TCR) with Mike Hall (VW TCR) in fifth.
“Really happy, stoked for the guys who gave me a decent car so nice to reward them,” commented Arnott. “Also, a big thanks to the lapped traffic, they were really good.”
Initially it was the Toyota GT86 of Grant and Ben Williams, who set the fastest lap in qualifying, that lead the race for the first 13 -laps until their engine let go, dropping oil on the track with several cars skidding off, necessitating a Safety Car period. Second placed Knowles took avoiding action which allowed Arnott to take the lead which he held for the rest of the race.
Having missed the opening round, Dylan Petch impressed with a solid second, having started down the grid in ninth.
“It was good, pretty hot work out there,” said Petch. “I took the first few laps quietly just trying to get through a few cars. There were a couple of fortuitous safety cars that brought us into the mix which helped us get through. Blake (Knowles) pushed us all the way.”
Arnott leads the overall points tally, eight ahead of Black with Knowles third.
“That was a good race,” said Knowles. “It got pretty busy. Was a bit annoying with the dropping of oil as I got caught in it big time, but it is what it is. I’ve got another podium so pretty pleased with that.”
The rivalry in Class 5 (0-2000cc) saw Donavan Isted (Honda Civic) beat home Round One winner Chris Wall (Honda Civic).
“It was a good battle with Chris (Wall),” said Isted. “After pitting we came out in front so looking forward to the final round”
Isted and Wall are now tied on 185-points with Rhys Turner (Honda Civic) in third.
Teams and drivers take a three-week break before the final round gets underway at the Timaru International Raceway just outside Timaru on Saturday 19 October 2024.
Header Image: Richard Opie
