New Zealand’s newest V8 racing category will land in the Manawatū for the first time this weekend, returning the old school GM-versus-Ford V8 rivalry and thunder to the lower North Island for the first time in years.
The SP Tools TA2 New Zealand Championship features as part of this weekend’s NextGen NZ Championship Grand Final at Manfeild Raceway, with a strong field of Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs, and Dodge Challengers set to go head-to-head.
TA2 is a rapidly growing category that has embarked on its first national championship this summer, quickly attracting strong grids and producing highly competitive racing.
With the field all powered by identical 6.2-litre Chevrolet Ls3 V8S, the category is a cost-effective and highly competitive showcase for V8 competition, with grids growing rapidly on both sides of the Tasman.
This weekend marks the penultimate round of the six-round series – one that heads to Manfeild with a new championship leader in the form of fast young-gun, Caleb Byers.
The Christchurch-based driver leads Dylan Grant by just 48 points. Sadly, Jayden Ransley is a non-starter, having won the most recent round at Highlands in early February, he would have been a force to be reakoned with
The depth of the New Zealand field was shown at the New Zealand Grand Prix event by the fact that Ransley and Byers were joined in the top three by two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Will Davison, who made a TA2 New Zealand cameo at the event.
TA2 New Zealand will be one of several key national championships on show this weekend as the NextGen NZ Championship returns to Manfeild for its second visit to the circuit just outside of Palmerston North.
Also on the cards will be the penultimate round of the intensely competitive Bridgestone GR86 Championship – the one-make field of Toyota Sports Cars filled with young rising stars of the sport, having put on a show across the country to date this Summer.
The Toyota championship has been remarkably competitive to date, with Chris White leading Zach Blincoe and Josh Bethune in the standings as the series charges towards the finish line.
The Manfeild event is doubly important for the GR Cup grid, as it races near the Palmerston North Headquarters of Toyota New Zealand.
Also on track, the GT New Zealand Championship continues NextGen’s global theme with a field of GT vehicles from Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Audi and Toyota – while there’ll be even more exotics showcased in the one-make Porsche NZ Championship field.
Finally, the ever-popular NAPA Central Muscle Car Series returns with its high-horsepower classic Muscle Cars from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s set to put on a show.
The NextGen NZ Championship Grand Finale offers plenty for motorsport fans this weekend, with incredible access for all ticketholders as part of the deal.
Two free pit lane walks (Saturday, 11:55 am and Sunday, 12:10 pm) allow fans to access the pit lane, while pre-race grid walks (1:55 pm Saturday and 2:10 pm Sunday) let fans on the track itself pre-race, just prior to the Summerset GT New Zealand (Saturday) and SP Tools TA2 NZ Championship (Sunday) races each day.
Driver signing sessions (2:20 pm Saturday, GR86 and 12:30 pm Sunday, TA2NZ) will let fans meet and greet the stars of the show and grab an autograph or selfie while they’re at it.
Tickets are available from the NeztGen NZ Championship website, www.nextgennz.co.nz or at the gate.
Action commences on Friday with practice, before qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday.
Those unable to attend can watch extensive coverage across the weekend on Sky Sports NZ, Fox/Kayo in Australia, or on YouTube worldwide.
Header Image: Tayler Burke/Shots By TayB
