After a successful inaugural 2021 event, more details surrounding the 2022 season of the NZ Production Racing Championship have been announced.
The 2022 season is set to see the Production Racing Championship hit the track alongside the TCR cars.
The categories are expected to share a grid for their respective championships.
The class is expected to see factory-built race cars competing alongside New Zealand built cars.
“It was apparent after Highlands in April, that there was considerable interest in creating a production class around the cup cars,” category manager Lindsay Dodd said.
“Equally, allowing NZ built cars will ensure that many already around the country will have an opportunity to compete at the highest level and for their own championship.
“I envisage, from the initial discussions, the class will be attractive to many vehicles, both existing and new. It captures the production race car ethos and will produce close competitive racing on the premier calendar.”
Locally built cars are expected to have some freedom with suspension and brakes, while ECUs will be open, however, the cars will still need to be based on their production bodyshells, while also utilising their original profile.
Rear wings will also be allowed in line with factory cup cars, like the Mini Challenge Cup cars.
Competitors in the category will also be able to run on slick tyres.
The category will use a ‘balance of performance’ weighted pit stop structure (where faster cars stop for longer periods than slower cars) to keep close and competitive racing across the field.
“It is also important to point out, for the future, that during this season we will also look at EV’s and start discussions with interested parties as to how we may be able to incorporate these cars into future Super Production series,” Dodd added.
“This fits into EV TCR’s that run as a separate series in Europe already.”
The inaugural event saw a host of big name Kiwi drivers competing against up and coming talent, in a single round championship held in the South Island.
The 2021 event was won by Chis van der Drift, who took two race wins, with Hayden Paddon taking the final win of the weekend.
The 2022 championship will see the series expand to three rounds, with events held in both the North Island and South Island.
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