• Latest
  • Trending

Michels pleased with first enduro season in MARC Focus

November 13, 2021

Feeney dominates in Townsville strategy game as Kiwis make gains with Payne finishing P5 and Wood P7

July 13, 2025

Jack Stokes wins The Bruce McLaren Trophy at Elite Motorsport Academy

July 13, 2025

Broc Feeney tops Townsville shootout as Payne secures front row start

July 13, 2025

Payne storms to provisional pole in Race 22 Townsville Qualifying

July 13, 2025
(Photo by HHP/Tom Copeland)

Connor Zilisch holds off Van Gisbergen in epic Sonoma showdown

July 13, 2025

Van Gisbergen grabs pole at Sonoma ahead of NASCAR Cup Series race

July 13, 2025
BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 12: Race winner Mitch Evans of New Zealand and Jaguar TCS Racing celebrates on the podium during the Berlin E-Prix, Round 13 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at Tempelhof Airport Circuit on July 12, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images for Formula E)

Evans back on top with Berlin win as Cassidy charges from P21 to P5

July 13, 2025

Scott McLaughlin fastest in Iowa practice before qualifying crash

July 13, 2025

Mixed fortunes for Kiwis in chaotic Supercars race: Payne secures podium, Evans endures another DNF

July 12, 2025

Bewley clinches podium in thrilling scrap as Robb cracks Top 10, Exton retires

July 12, 2025

Kostecki claims commanding Townsville win as Kiwi Payne just misses podium in Supercars Sprint opener

July 11, 2025
Sunday, July 13, 2025
VelocityNews
Subscribe
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Michels pleased with first enduro season in MARC Focus

by Zane Shackleton
November 13, 2021
in New Zealand, News, SIERDC
0

Ask Jordan Michels how his first South Island endurance season racing the Team Williams MARC Ford Focus went, and you’ll be met with a grin and a chuckle.

Overall, it was a mostly positive first campaign.

Michels debuted the car at Highlands Motorsport Park in October with a P5 finish.

From there, Michels’ results were exceptionally consistent.

He was sixth at Levels, fourth in a wet-dry race at Teretonga, and seventh at Ruapuna.

His P7 in Christchurch doesn’t paint a complete picture. Michels ran as high as third in the race before copping a hit from behind while following the safety car.

Race control issued Michels a mechanical black flag to repair the damage, dropping him out of top-five contention.

So, from an outsider’s perspective, 2021 was a relatively solid season for Michels.

And the Invercargill racer agrees.

“It was pretty good and I’m pretty happy with how [the season] went,” he said.

“I didn’t know how competitive we would be this year, but we got the most out of the package. I’m stoked with the car.

“We were good, just not quite Porsche-good.”

Image: ASP

The V8-powered MARC Focus was a totally new beast Michels had to quickly learn and adapt to before the season kicked off.

The most profound difference between the MARC and Michels’ former endurance car – a Honda Civic TCR – is the MARC is rear-wheel drive.

That, and the MARC has a 5.0-litre Coyote V8 pumping out 500 horsepower down the straights.

For a unique little race car, its sound is damn impressive.

“We’re still learning the set-up,” Michels said.

“It’s a stacked series and you don’t really get the opportunity to have test days. Having lockdown before the series didn’t give us the chance to really develop the car much.

“And as a driver you are always learning too.”

Michels had the dependable John McIntyre on hand for some driver tuning over the final few rounds to shave off some tenths of a second in lap time, which he says was a big help.

Image: ASP

Michels also praised the work of his team for their commitment this season.

“The team did great…they had to do things like a complete wheel change. We had a few new guys as well.”

Following the success of the South Island series, Michels is hoping he can get to Hampton Downs in April for the New Zealand Endurance Championship.

However, planning for anything during these times is too unpredictable, and Michels says he and the team must wait to see what unfolds before committing to the national championships.

Main Image: Terry Marshall

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.