Marco Giltrap will return to Taupo International Motorsport Park this weekend to team up with James Sax in the second round of the North Island Endurance Series.
Sax, a race winner in the GT New Zealand Championship GT4 class, and Giltrap, the 2023 Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia champion, will share a Mercedes AMG GT4 in the 3-hour.
The drive is the latest in what has been a busy 2024 for Giltrap, who competed in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe early in the year before beginning his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia campaign.
He last competed in the North Island Endurance Series in Round 3 in 2022, finishing first in Class 3 and fourth overall at Pukekohe with Simon Evans in a Porsche 982 Cayman GT4. At that same event, he also finished second overall in the 1-hour.
He last appeared at Taupo International Motorsport Park as a competitor in the Carrera Cup Australia’s visit at the ITM Taupo Super400.
As an elite-rated driver, Giltrap will be limited to 70 minutes of seat time, with Sax set to do at least 110 minutes of driving.
Luke Manson and James Penrose enter the round in the overall lead of the North Island Endurance Series 3-Hour classifications following their victory at Hampton Downs in Manson’s Audi A8.
There, Penrose kept defending champion and former A1GP driver Jonny Reid. Reid and Sam Fillmore are looking to return to winning ways at Taupo in their 2019 Audi R8.
Steve Brooks and Bill Riding, the AM/AM pairing, will also be present in the 3-Hour, sharing a 2017 R8 that ensured an Audi sweep of the podium at Hampton Downs.
Glenn Smith and Damon Leitch will compete as a duo in the second round, missing John De Veth. The three finished fourth in the opener in a McLaren 650S GT3.
Completing the Class 1 field are Glen Brazier and Damon Leitch in Brazier’s new-to-New Zealand Lamborghini Huracan.
Class 2 features a battle between Simon Gilbertson’s Porsche 991 and John McIntyre’s Marc Mustang, driven by Paul Rickerby and Graeme Rhodes.
A 27-strong 1-hour field has also been confirmed, with Joel Giddy leading the way in his Mercedes AMG GT2.
Testing for Round 2 of NIERDC takes place on Friday before proceedings begin with 1-hour qualifying on Saturday morning.
The Fast Files will offer a free livestream of the event on Facebook and YouTube.
Spectator entry to Taupo International Motorsport Park is free.
