With two rounds of the Golden Homes GT New Zealand Championship complete, the third round gets underway this weekend at Taupo International Motorsport Park.
In the GT4 class, the duo of David Cremer and Jason Liefting who share the #62 McLaren 570S lead the class on 552 points, with the Mercedes AMG of Jono McFarlane not far behind in third on 501. However, the top of the points table will change at Taupo, with the Cremer McLaren unable to enter due to other commitments.
With the leading McLaren absent, McFarlane will be looking to have a good weekend and secure valuable points for his title attack.
In the Open Class, the Aedifice Racing pairing of Jono Lester and Heremana Malmezac occupy the top two spots, with Lester leading on 524 points, with Malmezac in second on 512. In third place in Open Class is Porsche racer, Marco Giltrap who remains within striking distance on 500.
The field this weekend for round three of the championship comprises of 15 GT4 cars. There will again be another large contingent of McLaren GT4’s, in the hands of Nigel Cromie, Todd Bawden, David Cranna, Rudy Van Het Wout, Richard Crabb and the duo of David Rogers and Brian Green combining in another McLaren.
Jono McFarlane lines up in his Mercedes AMG GT4 and will be joined by another, that of Glenn Cotterill. Also lining up in a Mercedes AMG this weekend will be Joel Giddy, having raced an Aston Martin Vantage last round at Hampton Downs.
The sole Aston Martin Vantage GT4 will be in the hands of Stephen Harrison who nabbed podium finishes at Hampton Downs last month.
Allan Sargeant enters his Ginetta G55 again, and Steve Scoles will compete in this newer G56 Ginetta.
Porsche Cayman GT4’s are entered in the hands John Buchanan, and the pairing of Oliver Saxton and James Paterson. Grant Aitken returns in his Cayman GT4 RS, and the championship will see newcomer Rianna O’Meara-Hunt enter in a Cayman GT4.
In the Open Class, the two Ediface Porsche’s of Francois Beziac and Heremana Malmezac will be back on track and will be looking to bank more valuable points for their respective championship campaigns.
There will again be a sole Ferrari 488 Challenge in the field, driven by Wayne Leach who will be looking to build on the podiums scored at Hampton Downs last month.
Paul Southam and Rob Steele will be eyeing a good result at Taupo in their Porsche, following some productive testing at the circuit recently.
More Porsche 991 machines will be in the hands of Luke Manson, Rick Armstrong, Paul Pedersen and Marco Giltrap, who returns for the round following his Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia Round 1 success at Phillip Island.
The wild looking Lamborghini Super Trofeo of Rob Anderson returns for a second event, having made its debut last round at Hampton Downs, co-driver Gene Rollinson picking up a win in the Italian machine.
The Golden Homes GT New Zealand Championship will have two 30-minute races, and a one-hour feature race at the Taupo circuit. A track schedule can be found in our Super Sprint All You Need To Know post.
Words & Image: Supplied
Additional reporting: Matthew Sampson
