There will be another winner this weekend at Teretonga for the third South Island Endurance Series.
Timaru victors Anthony Leighs and Tom Alexander are not attending round three. But the Nissan GT-R GT3 will be back for the season finale at Ruapuna.
Hamilton Motorsport and their GT-R are still stuck in Waikato and will miss this weekend.
That means Sunday’s three-hour race will feature a third different winner of the season.
Favourites for the win is Glenn Smith and Damon Leitch in the SBT Motorsport McLaren 650s GT3.
The McLaren was quick the last two rounds but has been struck by a malady of misfortune.
First, a tyre puncture eliminated them from the lead in round one. The car was then hit by a slower lapped car in Timaru, which damaged the right-rear wheel enough to retire.
Scott O’Donnell and Allan Dippie will be there or thereabouts in the Porsche 991 GT3R, hoping to pick up the pieces if anything happens to the leaders.
There will be another class car on the overall podium with only two cars in the top-tier Class E.
Class D leaders Steve Brooks and Jack Milligan (Porsche 991 Cup) aim to extend their points advantage with another strong performance.
The Collins Motorsport MARC II V8 Mustang raced in the three-hour the first two rounds but shifts to the one-hour this weekend.
They aim to be the first car to topple young Ryan Wood, who is unbeaten in the one-hour Class C and D race.
Wood has been sublime in his rookie season and will look to put a stranglehold on the series title with another win.
Past champions Marco Schelp and Martin Dippie could throw a spanner in the works, but it will likely take something special to beat Wood.
Rhys Gould made an immediate impact when he joined the Class A and B one-hour grid at Timaru.
He put his Hyundai i30 TCR on pole position but had to start from the pitlane. Still, he expertly carved his way back to the front to claim the win.
Andre Simon (Toyota 86) and Daniel Cropp (Honda Civic) have also proven they can take the fight to the TCR cars.
Unlike most endurance rounds, this weekend’s racing is on Sunday.
Qualifying begins at 9 am before the first one-hour race gets underway at 10.20 am.
Main Image: Terry Marshall
