White fastest in Bridgestone GR86 qualifying

Christchurch racer Chris White will start from pole position for Sunday’s feature race at Round 2 of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship.

A great early effort – when it mattered most – from the Neale Motorsport driver was enough to fend off the challenge of major rivals Arthur Broughan and Josh Bethune.  Bethune, with the best second-fastest lap, takes pole position for this afternoon’s first race.

On the long 3.8km Hampton Downs circuit, drivers only needed one warm-up lap for the Bridgestone tyres to be ready to go – and at their best – so getting a quick lap in early was paramount.

And it was White, still feeling unwell, who popped up at the top of the timesheets after the first – and often most important – flying laps. His 1 minute 49.246 lap proved unbeatable for the remainder of the session.

Behind White were series leader Broughan, back at the sharp end after a reasonably challenging Friday test day and likely championship challenger Bethune. They were just two and three tenths respectively in arrears. Round 1 race winner Zach Blincoe continued his form as a pace setter with the fourth fastest.

Harry Townshend bucked the trend of the session with his best lap eight minutes in, going fifth, edging out reigning champion Hugo Allan by eight hundredths of a second.

White’s teammate Mac Templeton was also enjoying improved form from Round 1 to go seventh fastest, while Australian Cooper Barnes was once again inside the top ten in eighth. With Bethune third, Barnes eighth and Simon Hunter ninth – it was an eye-catching three Right Karts By M2 Competition entries in the top ten.

Youngster Ajay Giddy also went under 1 minute 50 seconds for the Hampton Downs lap, but had to settle for tenth on the grid, one ahead of Toyota 86 Trophy Series winner Lee Zeltwanger.

The top 15 cars were once again covered by just over a second, a remarkable statistic over almost 4km of race track and a guarantee that action over the three races of the weekend will be intense.

2025-2026 Bridgestone GR86 Championship – Round 2 Hampton Downs Race 1 Grid

2025-2026 Bridgestone GR86 Championship – Round 2 Hampton Downs Feature Race Grid

Header Image: Joel Hanks