Jordan Michels and the Grant and Cole Askew combination have opened the 2026 South Island Endurance Series in winning fashion, taking overall honours in their respective classes in the one-hour race at Levels Raceway.
Close qualifying battles set the tone for the opening round. Grant and Cole Askew put their Volkswagen Golf TCR on pole as Class 4 machinery locked out the top three positions. Zach Ming qualified second in his Audi RS3 TCR, while Conley Webley secured third aboard the BMW Z4.
The Askews converted that qualifying pace into victory, though they had to work for it as the fight at the front went all the way to the final lap.
They ultimately crossed the line first to secure the opening Class 4 victory of the season, with Ming finishing second in what was his first-ever race meeting at Levels Raceway. Webley completed the overall and Class 4 podium in third.
Warren Walker claimed the Class 5 honours, leading home Andrew Bartlett and Andrew Kitching.
Qualifying for Class 1, 2 and 3 was equally competitive, with Hugh Gardiner and Jordan Michels trading fastest laps throughout the session. Gardiner eventually came out on top in his Porsche GT3 MR, edging Michels’ MARC II Mustang by just a couple of tenths to secure pole position.
Blake Knowles produced an impressive performance in his older Porsche 997 Cup Car to qualify third overall with a 1:01.017 lap. When racing got underway, defending champion Michels emerged on top, thanks to avoiding the first-corner incident involving Hugh Gardiner and Paul Kelly, which took both competitors out in the first few meters of the race start.
Neither Kelly nor Gardiner could continue, leaving Michels with little competition for an untroubled win and an overall victory to begin his championship defence with maximum effect. Wei Zhou and Josh Bethune brought their Class 3 McLaren home second overall, while Ollie Gibbons completed the outright podium aboard his Porsche 911 GT3.
Gibbons’ result also earned him second in Class 1 behind Michels, with Garry Derrick completing the class podium in third.
Knowles converted his strong qualifying performance into the Class 2 victory, leading home the Michael Nel and Tayler Bryant combination in second, while Nick Wright finished third.
Zhou and Bethune were the dominant force in Class 3 on their way to second overall and the class victory. Behind them came an impressive performance from Barry Moore, whose Volkswagen TCR punched above its weight to secure second in class.
Michael Bushell rounded out the Class 3 podium aboard his home-built Porsche-Chevrolet.
With the opening one-hour races complete, the first victories of the 2026 South Island Endurance Series are in the books as the championship gets underway at Levels Raceway.
Header Image: SIERDC
