Round 4 of the Porsche Endurance Trophy New Zealand took place at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon. Even with a smaller grid, the level of racing was impressive, producing different winners in each race across the weekend.
Qualifying & Race 1
Saturday began with drama in qualifying when championship leader Rick Armstrong made an uncharacteristic error, ending in contact with the wall, causing a red flag. Young gun Regan Scoullar claimed pole position. The International Motorsport team, with support from Porsche Motorsport New Zealand, worked against time to repair Armstrong’s car in time for Race 1 that afternoon.
In Race 1, Scoullar had a strong start, but Nigel Cromie was close behind and made a decisive pass for the lead late in the race.
Cromie showed genuine pace and held the lead through to the chequered flag — an impressive feat given he missed all of Friday practice while awaiting the birth of his child. Cromie claimed valuable early-weekend championship points, with Scoullar finishing second and Sam Fillmore third.
Race 2
On Sunday morning, the field returned for the second 30-minute race of the weekend. Cromie once again delivered an impressive pace, but post-race checks revealed a technical infringement, excluding him from the results. The exclusion handed the race victory to Armstrong, extending his Porsche Endurance Trophy lead. Scoullar finished second again, with Fillmore moving up to third post-race.
Feature Race
The weekend’s feature race was reduced to 40 minutes after an incident in the previous race necessitated track safety checks. The cars were closely matched from the start, creating tight racing throughout.
Armstrong had an early spin that dropped him from the lead pack. Fillmore was the first to make his compulsory pit stop, executing the undercut — a strategy that ultimately moved him in front of Scoullar.
The pair battled for the lead through the second half of the race. Cromie made a late attempt on the final lap to take second from Scoullar, but was unsuccessful. Sam Fillmore claimed the endurance victory, with Scoullar second and Cromie third — all three cars crossing the line within three tenths after 40 minutes of racing.
Overall Weekend Result
With consistent results across all three races, Regan Scoullar secured the overall weekend win. Past champion Sam Fillmore finished second overall, and reigning champion Rick Armstrong third — keeping the championship battle very much alive.
“Even with a reduced field this weekend, the racing was exceptional. Great to have three different winners across all the races, and fantastic to have Regan Scoullar take out his first-round win.
Great to have Sam Fillmore win his first race of the season and close the points gap to Rick Armstrong, leading into our final round at Ruapuna. The attraction of being at the first-ever South Island round of Repco Supercars has created a lot of interest in the series, and we look forward to having a bumper grid to finish off the season with the Porsche Endurance Trophy New Zealand to be decided that weekend.” – Nathan Pilcher, Porsche Motorsport Coordinator.
Looking Ahead: Ruapuna
The Summerset GT New Zealand Championship now heads to the final round at Ruapuna, Christchurch, as part of the Supercars Championship Weekend. The drivers will battle for the GT3 Cup Championship title across 3 races over the weekend.
The champion will earn an invitation to the Night of Champions awards ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany, later this year.
Season Championship Standings – Porsche Endurance Trophy New Zealand GT3 Cup:
- Rick Armstrong — 941
- Nigel Cromie — 842
- Sam Fillmore — 823
- Regan Scoullar — 675
- Luke Manson — 609.5
- Andy Childe — 446.5
Header Image: Tayler Burke / Shots By Tay B
