Motorsport Diary: Kiwis competing abroad this weekend (26/1-28/1)

It’s all go this weekend!

The action continues to heat up worldwide, with two substantial endurance races and a Formula E double-header set to keep us busy.

Six Kiwis will be on the grid at the start of the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona, with a further three taking part in a race of equal length on the other side of the world, in Dubai.

If that track action wasn’t enough, we’re also being treated to two big meets on our own soil, with the third round of the Super Sprint Motorsport New Zealand Championship at Manfeild and the iconic ‘Thunder Down Under’ meet at Levels, Timaru.

We’re spoilt for choice this weekend, so sit back, relax, and enjoy.

For all the information on the Kiwis competing overseas, see below.

Dixon, Hartley, Blomqvist, McLaughlin, Bamber & McElrea: 24 Hours of Daytona

• Where? Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Florida
• NZ times:
  • Race: Sunday 8.00 am-Monday 8.00 am
• How to watch: Sky Sport Popup 1 (600)

Six Kiwis will take on this year’s 24 Hours of Daytona, with Scott Dixon, Tom Blomqvist and Brendon Hartley in the GTP (Hypercar) class, Scott McLaughlin and Hunter McElrea in LMP2 and Earl Bamber in GTD Pro.

Blomqvist joins Pipo Derani and Jack Aitken at Whelen Cadillac Racing to share a #31 Cadillac V-Series.R for the race. Derani qualified on pole for the race, bettering Blomqvist’s lap record, set last year, by 1.5 seconds.

Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and IndyCar champion Alex Palou, sharing Cadillac Racing’s #1 Cadillac V-Series.R, also start on the front row.

Wayne Taylor Racing are fielding Hartley, Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque and Marcus Ericsson in the #10 Acura ARX-06, which will start sixth.

Hunter McElrea joins Steven Thomas, Mikkel Jensen and Charles Milesi for the race at TDS Racing, with the team lining up sixth in class.

Tower Motorsports, who feature Scott McLaughlin, John Farano, Michael Dinan and Ferdinand Hadsburg-Lothringen, qualified 13th in class and started from grid 22.

Earl Bamber joins Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg at Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports, with the team lining up 7th in the GTD Pro class from grid 43 in the #4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Nick Cassidy & Mitch Evans: Formula E Diriyah E-Prix

• Where? Diriyah Street Circuit, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
• NZ Times:
  • Practice 1: Friday 3.55 am
  • Practice 2: Friday 10.55 pm
  • Race 1 Qualifying: Saturday 1.00 am
  • Race 1: Saturday 5.00 am
  • Practice 3: Saturday 10.55 pm
  • Race 2 Qualifying: Sunday 1.00 am
  • Race 2: Sunday 5.00 am
• How to watch: Sky Sport 5 (055)

The first double-header of the 2024 Formula E season takes place in Saudi Arabia, with Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans starting the season strongly in Mexico.

Cassidy finished on the podium in his Jaguar TCS Racing debut, while Evans drove defensively to come home fifth. The results see the team sit second in the championship, only one point off the lead.

Matt Payne, Rianna O’Meara-Hunt & Brendon Leitch: 24H Dubai

• Where? Dubai Autodrome, UAE
• NZ Times:
  • Qualifying: Friday 11.35 pm
  • Night Practice: Saturday 4.00 am
  • Race: Saturday 9.30 pm-Sunday 9.30 pm
• How to watch: Free live stream (motorsport.tv)

Matt Payne competes for the first time this season for Grove Racing, joining team owners Stephen and Brenton Grove, Jordan Love and Phil Keen for the Dubai 24H. The team shares Grove’s new Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the GT3 class.

Brendon Leitch joins his Leipert Motorsport team to share a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 with Gabriele Rindone, Marco Mapelloi and Alban Varutti in the GT3 Pro/AM class.

Rianna O’Meara-Hunt joins Century Motorsport in a BMW M4 GT4 (G82) for the race. The GT4 America race winner partners David Holloway, Piers Johnson and Nichols Halstead in the GT4 class.