Things are quietening down on the international front as the Northern Hemisphere heads into winter. Although our calendar has only one Kiwi in action overseas this weekend, being Matthew Payne, there’s plenty of other Kiwi-less action to check out.
The MotoGP returns to Australia for the first time since 2019 with the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island, whilst NASCAR heads to the bright lights of Las Vegas for the South Point 400.
The MotoGP can be viewed on Spark Sport, NASCAR on Sky Sport 5 (055).
If you’re missing your fix of New Zealander’s racing, HRC is hosting the B&H Endurance Races at Pukekohe this weekend, the Store Rite 100 and Fleetline 500 the entertainment for a good day out on Saturday. Why not head out for a day at the track?
The South Island Endurance Series also wraps up their season at Levels Raceway in Timaru, all events to be shown live on the The Pits Media Facebook page. We’ll have more information on that tomorrow morning.
Things do pick up over the next few weeks (we promise), keep an eye out for our upcoming Motorsport Diaries, as well as a post coming this weekend about what’s still left in 2022.
Matthew Payne: European Le Mans Series- 4 Hours of Portimao
- Where? Portimao, Portugal
- NZ Times:
- Qualifying: Sunday 4.35am
- Race: Monday 1.00am
- How to watch: Live Stream
After a successful weekend at Bathurst just last week, 20-year old Matt Payne was immediately on the plane to Portugal for the final round of the European Le Mans series.
Racing for JMW Motorsport in a Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, Payne will partner Italian Giacomo Petrobelli and Singaporean Sean Hudspeth. The trio will compete in the LMGTE class of the event.
Forty-one cars will be present for the four hour race, all three classes locked in championship battles. This includes the LMGTE class, however Payne and co are mathematically out of contention of the title.
JMW Motorsports sits fifth in their class, a top three possibility on the cards as a result of a strong weekend. Season highlights so far include a third-placed finish in the 4 Hours of Barcelona and a fourth in the 4 Hours of Imola.