Get ready for a packed weekend of international motorsports featuring a strong Kiwi contingent! From NASCAR to Supercars and beyond, there’s plenty of action to keep track of!
We start off with Shane van Gisbergen, who returns for Round 2 of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. The 35-year-old Kiwi is looking to rebound from a tough start to his rookie campaign, where a crash during the season opening Daytona 500 effectively ended his race, a dissapointing result considering his strong early pace.
Van Gisbergen does have good experience at Atlanta heading into the weekend, with two NASCAR Xfinity Series races and a Cup Series start under his belt at the Speedway in 2024. While his Cup debut at the track ended in contact, his first Xfinity race there resulted in a stellar third-place finish!
The NASCAR Cup action will kick off on Sunday morning with Qualifying, followed by the 200 lap race on Monday.
Next up we have five Kiwis competing at Sydney Motorsport Park for the opening round of the 2025 Supercars Championship this weekend. The lineup is largely unchanged from last season, Andre Heimgartner and Jaxon Evans will be lining up for Brad Jones Racing, Matthew Payne with Penrite Racing, and Ryan Wood with Walkinshaw Andretti United. Richie Stanaway makes the switch over the off season from Penrite Racing to PremiAir Racing.
The season opener features an action packed schedule: With a 26-lap race opening the season on Friday night, followed by a 52-lap race on Saturday night, and another 52-lap race on Sunday afternoon to finish off the weekend.
Three additional Kiwis will compete in support categories at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
Firstly Ayrton Hodson will make his Super2 debut with Anderson Motorsport, driving the ex-DJR Ford Mustang previously campaigned by Will Davison in 2021/22.
The 19-year-old Tauranga driver transitions from the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia, where he secured two podium finishes on route to a fifth-place championship finish in 2024.
Then completing the Kiwi lineup in Sydney is Marco Giltrap and Clay Osborne in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia. Giltrap returns for his second full season with Earl Bamber Motorsport, aiming to build on his 11th-place finish in 2024 and leverage his experience from racing in the GT New Zealand Championship over the Summer break.
Osborne, 19, is back with McElrea Racing after a successful 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge season that included a pole position, three race wins, and nine podium finishes, resulting in a third-place overall finish. Osbourne made his debut in Carrera Cup last year following his successful Sprint Challenge Campaign, lining up for the final two rounds of the season in the Gold Coast and Adelaide, where he showed great promise.
Then finally, Brendon Hartley (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Earl Bamber (Jota Sport) will participate in a two-day World Endurance Championship pre-season test (prologue) at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar this weekend. This season marks Hartley’s sixth season with Toyota, while it’s Bamber’s first season with the Jota Sport Cadillac team.
The Prologue test will be followed by the season opening Qatar 1812 km next weekend.
Weekend Schedule (NZ Time):
Friday:
2:35pm: Super2 Practice 1
3:40pm: Supercars Practice 1
5:10pm: Porsche CCA Practice 1
6:20pm: Supercars Qualifying 1
7:15pm: Super2 Practice 2
8:40pm: Porsche CCA Practice 2
9:50pm: Supercars Race 1
Saturday:
2:35pm: Porsche CCA Qualifying
4:00pm: Super2 Qualifying 1
4:35pm: Supercars Qualifying 2
6:35pm: Supercars Top 10 Shootout 1
7:20pm: Porsche CCA Race 1
7:55pm: Super2 Race 1
9:30pm: Supercars Race 2
Sunday:
5:05am: NASCAR Cup Qualifying
11:35am: Porsche CCA Race 2
12:35pm: Super2 Qualifying 2
1:10pm: Supercars Qualifying 3
3:05pm: Supercars Top 10 Shootout 2
4:00pm: Porsche CCA Race 3
4:40pm: Super2 Race 2
6:05pm: Supercars Race 3
Monday:
9:00am: NASCAR Cup Race
To follow the NASCAR Cup action, you’ll be able to watch it live and free on ThreeNow (race only). For all of the racing in Sydney (Supercars, Super2 and Porsche Carrera Cup), coverage will be live on SkySport throughout the weekend.
Header Image: Chevrolet Racing Facebook
