A field of 156 cars in seven different classes will take to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park this weekend for the final round of the Super Sprint Motorsport New Zealand Championship, the last stop for several championships.
The six-round Toyota 86 Championship is just one series that will recognise a New Zealand champion. The fiercely contested series has delivered many crowd-raising moments and delivered screen-filling television action as the teams journeyed the country from Invercargill to south Auckland.
With the emphasis on one race at a time, Matakana’s Brock Gilchrist holds a 76-point lead at the top of the standings. Taking the lead at the opening round, Gilchrist quietly stacked the points to now put pressure on his rivals to risk it all. Showing the door can be opened at the previous round, second-placed Clay Osborne (Morrinsville) will be playing for keeps in what will be a thrilling weekend. Leading rookie Rylan Gray (NSW) is 97 points clear of rival Tom Bewley (Hawkes Bay).
The championship winner and top rookie (two drivers) will receive an all-expenses paid trip to race a GR Supra GT4 Evo in the third round of the ADAC GT4 Germany championship at the iconic Nürburgring.
In addition, one driver will be picked by the Tony Quinn Foundation and presented with the opportunity to test the latest Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro for Triple Eight Race Engineering.
The Super V8 Series will hold its inaugural title decider at Hampton Downs. After a four-round season, the finale expects between 15 to 20 cars to make it to the Super Sprint weekend.
Headed by Andrew Turner in the TA2 V8 Muscle Car series, Brady Wild tops the NZ V8 Touring Cars Open series, with Robert Berggren leading the NZ TraNZam Challenge.
With growing numbers of TA2 cars joining the group, Hampton Downs will also be the debut of two sisters to the series.
NZ Sports Cars join the Super Sprint event for their penultimate round of the 2023 season. Dedicated open-cockpit race cars include a mixture of factory and home-built packages from the Fraser to the Radical.
Leading the open class, Auckland’s Tim Edgell could wrap up the title. Leading by 257 points over second-placed Rob Anderson, the Radical SR10 driver and multiple New Zealand champion has so far top-scored at each event.
In the 2-L class, Anthony Barker (Juno) holds a 51-point lead over Mt Maunganui’s Dean McCarroll (Juno).
For the fourth time this season, the TradeZone GTRNZ category lines up on the Super Sprint grid. In two groups, it will be a winner takes all weekend with Waiuku’s Kerry Jones the man to beat in his Corvette TraNZam. Jones will also be competing in the Super V8 category.
Trailing by 120 points, Auckland’s Wayne Conder is the only likely contender to take the overall title. The GT2 category leader Shane Parsons (Cambridge) holds third in his Honda Integra – 93 points behind Conder.
In the GT3/GT4 field, Auckland’s Ben Goebel (Subaru Legacy) sits ahead of Taupo’s Brian Hamilton (Ford Capri), with best-placed GT3 driver Sean Browne (Feilding, Honda Civic) ahead of Palmerston North’s Jamie Potts (Toyota Trueno).
Concluding the four-round RYCO 24.7 V8 Ute Championship, one of the 15 will take the 2023 title.
In a classic Ford vs Holden battle, current series leader Brad Kroef (Hamilton) has a 30-point lead over his dad Greg. In third place and first of the Holden’s is Cambridge’s Phil Ross – a further 14 points behind. Late entrant Jake Stoneman (Waitakere) has shown the Kroefs he’s there to be a champion contender – climbing to fourth position and in with a mathematical shot of claiming more than a trophy.
The Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series has an entry of 41 cars. In the final round for the New Zealand and North Island Championship, Wellington’s Simon Baker holds a slender lead for the overall title. Currently seven points ahead of Christchurch’s 16-year-old Chris White, there is a 100-point gap to third-placed Leo Bult (Kumeu).
In the North Island Championship, Tauranga’s Rex Edwards holds the advantage. Leading Simon Baker by 38 points, it’s Bult who again sits third, by 65 points.
A mix of RX7 and RX8 cars contest the five-round series, including a sub-title for the North and South Island events.
Central Muscle Cars make a return to the Super Sprint series for their title-deciding event of 2023. A grid of 25 exotic and V8-powered cars race for the fifth and final time this season to decide who is the champion.
Wanganui’s Tristan Teki (Chevrolet RS Camaro) leads the Group 1A category and holds a slender five-point lead over Hamilton’s Shannon Coker (Holden HQ). Christchurch’s Andy Knight (Chevrolet Camaro) is third, a further 21 points behind.
In the 1B category Hampton Downs, Andrew Sinclair (Holden VK Commodore) leads Silverdale’s Bruce Kett (Chevrolet Camaro) by 46 points.
Teams get to practice on Friday 5 May with qualifying and one race on the Saturday. They each get a race on Sunday morning and concluding race in the afternoon.
Sunday will be televised live to Sky Sport (from 9am) and TV3 (from 1pm).
Header Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand | Words: Supplied
