• Latest
  • Trending
Josh Bethune, Right Karts by M2 Competition. Driver portraits, GR86 Media Day, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, New Zealand, 30 October 2024. Photo by Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ

Seasoned Karting champion Bethune confident ahead of return to circuits

November 18, 2024

Respect and Rivalry: Zilisch vs. Van Gisbergen on NASCAR’s road courses

July 18, 2025

Cassidy backs Lawson: “People in motorsport have short memories”

July 18, 2025

Douglas heads to Toronto for penultimate round of USF Pro 2000 season

July 18, 2025
#88: Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Red Bull Chevrolet

Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend

July 18, 2025

Ben Stewart impresses in debut Australian Toyota GR Cup weekend at Townsville

July 17, 2025

McElrea denied podium in rollercoaster IMSA race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

July 17, 2025

Liam Lawson beats WRC Champions in impressive rally debut at Goodwood

July 16, 2025

Bamber back on the podium as Toyota endures tough São Paulo return

July 15, 2025
#88: Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Red Bull Chevrolet

“Nobody Can Run With Him”: Denny Hamlin and Co. hail SVG’s road course dominance after Sonoma victory

July 15, 2025

Consistent Hedge claims third-straight P6 at Iowa Speedway

July 15, 2025

Chaos and heartbreak for Kiwis in Porsche Sprint Challenge in Townsville

July 15, 2025
Saturday, July 19, 2025
VelocityNews
Subscribe
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Seasoned Karting champion Bethune confident ahead of return to circuits

by Velocity News
November 18, 2024
in Toyota GR86 Championship
0

Josh Bethune will make a return to circuit racing this season and the 21-year-old driver, engineer and karting instructor is hungry for success.

Bethune will run as part of a major effort in the new Bridgestone GR86 Championship by a new team to the championship, Right Karts Academy by M2 Competition. 

Josh Bethune will race for Right Karts by M2 Competition. Image: John Cowpland

The Whitford-based driver brings a wealth of experience to the championship and considerable versatility. Over the past four seasons he has raced in F2 Midgets, Formula Ford, the United States F4 Championship and even the Castrol Toyota Racing Series as well as being a major force in every karting competition he has entered.

His karting achievements for Right Karts have been exceptional and in 2024 alone he was the Rotax Heavy class winner in the Rose City Challenge, the Rotax DD2 winner at the New Zealand Kart Grand Prix, in the City of Sails event and the Hampton Downs Academy Kartstars competition in Rotax DD2 and Rotax Heavy. He is also a back-to-back KartSport National Champion in Rotax Heavy.

Now Right Karts has teamed up with ultra-successful race team M2 Competition – led by Mark Pilcher – for the inaugural Bridgestone GR86 Championship. The team will run an impressive four car team under the Right Karts Academy by M2 Competition banner, in what will be a full field of up to 25 cars.

Bethune has put together a solid group of sponsors to help support his campaign, including JW Group, Rotax Karting, FireWatch, Joey Zhou Racing and Right Karts, of course.

He’s relishing the challenge that lies ahead, commenting:  “We found a nice opportunity to come back to the race tracks and we’re here to go well and have some fun. The racing is very close and that’s a lot like the karting with most of the field covered by fractions of a second.

“It’s hard to tell where we are as everyone’s tyres have done different mileage. We are running well used tyres but we’re going well.

“I’ve done a lot of karting this year but had three months out with a back injury. That said, I’ve been back for a little while now and I’m happy that I am race sharp and ready as overall I’ve done a lot of driving this year.  Even coaching young drivers I’m clocking up a lot of laps so mileage won’t be an issue.

“I have a lot of experience on my side but lots of it is in single seaters so tin tops are very new to me. I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I said I didn’t want to win and when we are running on the same tyres we are right up there on times, so we’re pretty optimistic that when it comes down to it, we’ll be there.

“The data side of things and the engineering side of things are really strong too with Mark at the helm. It’s all looking good.”

The Right Karts Academy by M2 Competition team has been set up to assist Right Kart customers and associates bridge the gap from karting to cars. The team will also be running two or three cars in the upcoming Toyota 86 Trophy Series. Josh will also provide a mentoring role for the younger drivers in that team.

The six round championship starts and finishes at Taupo – with the final round as the major support category for the Australian Supercars second visit to the circuit. In between Josh will race in both the North Island and the South Island and will be on the grid for the GR86 round at the 69th New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Highlands International Motorsport Park.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.