There will be star power everywhere fans look when the opening round of the 2025/26 NextGen NZ Championship launches at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in the Waikato next week.
From current Supercars Championship title contenders to legends of New Zealand and Aussie Motorsport – plus some cars yet to compete on New Zealand shores – the Hampton Downs International is a blockbuster one for motorsport fans.
Tickets remain on sale from www.nextgennz.co.nz and include the opportunity to mix with the stars in the closest way possible – on the grid itself – via free Grid Walks, open to all ticketholders at the event.
Supercars Stars on and off track
You could be mistaken for thinking that the Supercars Championship was coming to town (even though their next visit to Kiwi shores is the ITM Taupo Super440 next April – tickets are on sale now), such is the number of big-name drivers from the championship set to compete at Hampton Downs.
Jaxon Evans and co-driver Elliot Schutte currently lead the GT World Challenge Australia title race with two races remaining. Evans, the driver who hails from Ashburton on the South Island, has a real and special chance to win a major Australian title on his home soil this weekend.
Current Supercars championship leader Broc Feeney will share an Audi with Brad Schumacher, while Ryan Wood will partner with fellow New Zealander Steve Brooks in an all-kiwi combination that should contend for victories.
Fresh from news of a full-time drive with PremiAir Racing in 2026, Jayden Ojeda will race a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
And fans should keep an eye out for Chaz Mostert: while he won’t be driving, the McLaren GT4 team he co-owns, Method Motorsport, will be in the title hunt in Monochrome GT4 Australia, so expect the two-time Bathurst champ to be in the garage – headset on.
Greg Murphy’s racing return
Kiwi Motorsport legend Greg Murphy will make a racing return this weekend as he suits up to join the Monochrome GT4 Australia field alongside another local legend – Grant Aitken.
The pair will race an Audi R8 GT4 amidst a field of more than 24 cars locked in for the championships’ debut on New Zealand shores.
The addition of Murphy and Aitken adds to a grid that includes both up-and-coming rising stars of the sport and more experienced contenders, plus cars from Audi, BMW, Ford, Ginetta, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche and Toyota.
New Zealand first for new GT machinery
New Zealand racing fans will get their first look at several cars yet to have competed on local racetracks at Hampton Downs – some of them among the best and most exciting GT machinery on the planet.
The Ferrari 296 GT3 is the latest and greatest GT car from the Prancing Horse, with three entered for the final round of GT World Challenge Australia.
The remarkable cars are among the most advanced GT machinery yet made, with the lead Arise Racing GT car in a supreme position to claim a second consecutive title next week.
Similarly, the Ford Mustang GT4 has taken all before it in the category since its debut last year and has become arguably the most popular car in the class.
With a thunderous V8 soundtrack, Mustangs are contenders in all three GT4 classes this weekend.
New Zealand vs Australia
The old sporting rivalry across the Tasman is alive and well with a host of Kiwi contenders lining up to beat the Aussies at their own game.
While several New Zealanders are full-time competitors in both GT World Challenge Australia and Monochrome GT4, both grids will be bolstered by local teams and drivers looking to pick the pockets of their Aussie rivals.
Auckland-based Racelab has already confirmed its pair of Toyota Supra GT4 entries will be on track. The iconic Auckland-based IMS Racing – International Motorsport – will be on track in the GT World Challenge grid with a key contender to take on the best Aussie GT teams.
Mach 1 Engineering, based in Silverdale, will also be on the grid with their Mercedes-AMG GT3 to be driven by Ant Pedersen and GT4 Australia champion, Shane Smollen.
Momentous weekend for New Zealand V8 fans
A huge weekend is in store for fans of V8-powered, doorhandle-to-doorhandle racing this weekend as the TA2 New Zealand Championship is set to explode in popularity, giving local fans a top-level V8 category for the first time in a decade.
A field of more than 16 Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge Muscle Cars will line up in a stand-alone grid that aims to build on the classic era of New Zealand Touring Cars with this American-based, now global category.
Building on the success of both TA2 Australia and the TransAm Series across the ditch, TA2 New Zealand has been granted full championship status this year and will race with stand-alone grids for the first time at Hampton Downs.
Round 1 awaits
Full entry lists and competitor details for round 1 of the NextGen NZ Championship at Hampton Downs will be released early next week.
Tickets remain on sale now. For those who can’t attend in person, broadcast coverage on Sky Sport NZ on Saturday and Sunday will cover every angle, while those in Australia can watch via Fox Sports and Kayo.
Header Image: SRO Australia – Daniel Kalisz
