North Island Endurance Series confirms fans can attend Hampton Downs opener

Officials from Speed Works Events and the Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series have confirmed that spectators will be allowed to attend this Saturday’s opening round at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. 

The news comes after the event’s support card was bolstered by the addition of the Best Bars Toyota 86 Series and Ryco 24.7 V8 Ute Series — the former to race in a non-championship capacity and the latter racing to crown a title winner. 

The announcement is part of Speed Works’ ongoing drive to get domestic motorsport back on track, with the promoters working with MotorSport New Zealand and other groups behind the scenes to help rebuild the domestic racing calendar in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts on live sport.

A limited run of 200 tickets will be sold online to those wishing to spectate — the number limited by the North Island’s ongoing Covid-19 ‘Level 2.5’ regulations. Fans will have the choice of two zones to watch the racing from, and pit lane will be closed to the public. 

Organisers have confirmed that they will not be selling tickets at the gate, only online. Tickets will cost $23.00 per person. 

The event will function as the competitive north island debut for the only current Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 in the country, driven by Alex Riberas and Darren Kelly. 

The Heart of Motorsport entry, run by International Motorsport, is fresh from claiming a tight maiden victory last weekend at the opening round of the Carters Tyres South Island Endurance Series — a race it won by just half a second.

It’s one of several GT3 cars entered in the three-hour event, with the likes of former champion Glenn Smith and GT-racing specialist Chris van der Drift’s McLaren 650S and Andrew Fawcett and Sam Fillmore’s Audi R8 LMS Ultra also in attendance. 

At the time of writing 21 cars had been entered for the three-hour race, and 34 cars had been entered for the one-hour race. VelocityNews understands that more entries in each field are expected to come. 

To purchase tickets for the opening round of the Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park on September 19, click here.