Round 1 of the NextGen NZ Championship got underway today at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, with more than $25 million worth of high-performance GT machinery representing some of the most famous marques in the world finally on track.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Toyota, Ford and many more will all be represented in competition this weekend.
They’ll be driven by some of the biggest names in motorsport, including Greg Murphy, Supercars championship leader Broc Feeney, Ryan Wood, Jaxon Evans, newly-signed full-time Supercars star Jayden Ojeda and more on track this weekend.
More than 30 cars from GT World Challenge Australia and GT4 Australia – along with 60 drivers and more than 100 crew members – have travelled across the Tasman this weekend.
The two major Australian championships will conclude their 2025 seasons this weekend at the Hampton Downs International – just 50 minutes South of Auckland’s CBD.
The two Aussie categories are part of a bumper line-up at Hampton Downs this weekend that includes the launchpad for key New Zealand national Championships, including the long-anticipated debut of a new V8-powered category for the country: TA2 New Zealand.
The Muscle Car championship includes Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros and Dodge Challengers, all powered by 6.2-litre V8S and producing spectacular racing. Sixteen cars are entered this weekend in its debut as a stand-alone national category.
Also in action this weekend will be the GT New Zealand Championship, the Bridgestone GR86 Championship – featuring one of the series’ most competitive-ever driving rosters of young up-and-coming talent – the Central Muscle Car Series, and the Porsche NZ Championship.
In all, more than 100 cars will be racing this weekend.
On Thursday, the 2025/26 NextGen NZ Championship was officially launched at Hampton Downs with a stunning collection of racing machinery representing the breadth of cars set to compete across the summer of motorsport.
Joining the seven classes in action this weekend, cars representing Formula Ford NZ, the Mazda Racing Series, GTRNZ and Kiwi Motorsport legend Kenny Smith’s historic Formula Atlantic were also on show.
Today’s action includes practice and qualifying sessions for key categories at Hampton Downs.
Access to the event is free on Friday, while weekend passes are available online for $79.
For those unable to attend in person, Sky Sport NZ will cover all the racing action this weekend on Saturday and Sunday.
Fans further afield can watch on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo in Australia, or on the official NextGen NZ Championship YouTube Channel worldwide.
Header Image: Supplied
