It’s a mega weekend of racing for our favourite Kiwis with the third successive Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend giving our budding youngsters another opportunity to shine on the global stage, while after a turbulent three week break Supercars will return to Sydney Motorsport Park for round four of the championship. Here is your guide to it all:
Supercars contingent
- What: Truck Assist Sydney SuperSprint
- Where: Sydney Motorsport Park, Australia
- When: R1 SAT 8.25 pm | R2 SUN 2.25 pm | R3 SUN 4.50 pm
- How to follow: Sky Sport
After an enthralling round to mark Supercars return post the COVID-19 break, the series makes it way back to the Eastern Creek venue for another three races of sprint action.
Championship leader Scott McLaughlin heads the way for the Kiwi field while Red Bull’s Shane Van Gisbergen has quickly been climbing the standings after a DNF at the season-opening round in Adelaide left him drowning at the bottom of the points tally.
But with a limited number of tyres on offer to the drivers once again, the high-degradation nature of the circuit means teams will have to be extremely calculated in their approach to the weekend with the window open for a midfield runner to gamble his tyre allocation on one race in pursuit of glory.
Our junior Supercar racers will also be on show over the weekend with Madeline Stewart to fly the New Zealand flag in the Super3 category and will have two races as a part of merged Super2/Super3 grid.
Scott Dixon
- What: Iowa IndyCar 250s
- Where: Iowa Speedway, United States
- When: R1 SAT 12.30 pm | R2 SUN 12.30 pm
- How to follow: Sky Sport
The Iceman has been unstoppable in the opening four rounds of the NTT IndyCar standings, clinching a record-breaking three successive victories to hold a 54-point advantage at the head of the standings with just over 10 races remaining.
It will take a Herculean effort by the rest of the grid to surmount Dixon as only twice since 2001 has any driver been able to overcome a 54-point deficit after four races, those being in seasons that were not heavily condensed as a consequence of a global pandemic.
Nonetheless, after a string of three road races Dixon will be back on the Oval racing scene with a pair of races at Iowa Speedway. The Kiwi will be looking to go one better after finishing runners-up at the venue last year to eventual series champion Josef Newgarden.
Marcus Armstrong
- What: FIA Formula 2 – Hungarian Grand Prix
- Where: Hungaroring, Hungary
- When: R1 SUN 2.45 am | R2 SUN 9.10 pm
- How to follow: Spark Sport
Two podium finishes from four races has Armstrong sitting pretty in the F2 standings but the ART pilot is still yet to grasp the winners trophy.
Armstrong knows the Hungaroring ring well, having been the destination were he nabbed his maiden FIA F3 race victory last season. The circuit is notoriously difficult to overtake on and is analogous to Monaco without the walls and skyscrapers.
The flying Kiwi will be aiming to improve in qualifying this weekend after two uncharacteristic performances at the Red Bull Ring meant his race preparation got off on the backfoot and he spent most of the opening race snapping on the heels on the midfield.
Liam Lawson
- What: FIA Formula 3 – Hungarian Grand Prix
- Where: Hungaroring, Hungary
- When: R1 SAT 8.25 pm | R2 SUN 7.45 pm
- How to follow: Spark Sport
It was a sour note to end a successful two weeks at Austria’s Red Bull Ring when Lawson clashed with another rival while dueling for the lead with a potential second victory of the season up for grabs.
But the 18-year-old says he has set aside his disappointments and frustrations and is gearing to go for his third consecutive weekend of racing at Hungary’s famed Hunagroring.
In his rookie F3 year, Lawson finished 16th and 9th in the two races. But his HiTech GP team have quickly proven to be one of the quickest cars in the field in race trim and, if the team can overcome its tyre issues that have hindered the last two qualifying sessions, Lawson should once again find himself towards the pointy end of the field.
Jaxon Evans
- What: Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup – Hungarian Grand Pirx
- Where: Hungaroring, Hungary
- When: Race SUN 10.25 pm
- How to follow: Spark Sport
A fifth-placed finish was not the end to a strong opening two race stint Jaxon Evans had in mind at the Red Bull Ring. The BWR Lechner Racing pilot couldn’t unlock his round 1 pace in qualifying for race 2 and spent much of the race battling his way towards the front.
However, Evans still sits second in the standings and within arms reach of teammate Dylan Pereira but with a more condensed 2020 season courtesy of the pandemic, the Kiwi will be targeting a strong finish ahead of Pereira at Hungary to to keep his championship ambitions alive.
With the Porsche Supercup already a series that struggles to promote overtaking, the slow, technical corners that characterise the Hungaroring puts an added emphasis on qualifying slated for Saturday afternoon.
Nick Cassidy
- What: Super GT Round 1
- Where: Fuji International Speedway, Japan
- When: Race SUN 6.00 pm
- How to follow: Live Timing
With knowledge of where his 2021 intentions lie having inked a deal with Envision Virgin to join the Formula E grid, Nick Cassidy will centre his focus on this year’s season-opening Super GT round from Fuji Speedway.
Fuji will host half of all races in the truncated eight-round championship so it will be vital for Cassidy and TOM’s Toyota co-driver Ryo Hirakawa to get ahead of the field in race setup and prepartion.
The Kiwi has come off a successful two-day test run at the circuit, but the all-new Toyota GR Supra does seem to be lacking in performance compared to the front-engined Honda NSX-GT which swept both days of testing.
A bumper 44-strong grid is expected to take to the grid in the season-opening race, with 29 GT300 entries confirmed to race alongside the 15 GT500 cars.
Earl Bamber
- What: Cadillac Grand Prix of Sebring
- Where: Sebring International Raceway, United States
- When: Race SUN 9.30 am
- How to follow: Sky Sport
A podium finish on his return to action a fortnight ago at Daytona, Earl Bamber and Porsche co-driver come into Sebring at the head of the GTLM point standings but are yet to capture a victory this year.
The duo finished a lowly fifth in the Sebring race last year but the entire Porsche outfit are galvanized to challenge for victories with the manufacturer’s impending exit from the class in 2021.
After their absence from the series at Daytona, a diluted five-car LMP2 entry list will return to the championship at Sebring while Corvette Racing come into the event adamant their off-season testing at the Florida venue will pay dividends as the American squad go in search for their second consecutive victory and win number 101 on home soil.
Ronan Murphy
- What: Andy Scriven Memorial – US Formula 4
- Where: Virginia International Raceway, United States
- When: R1 SUN 5.20 am | R2 MON 1 am | R3 MON 5.40 am
- How to follow: Live Timing | Formula Network America live stream
Ronan Murphy was a dealt a baptism of fire in his debut US Formula 4 round at Mid-Ohio last month. A disappointing qualifying session in an unfamiliar car was succeeded by a washed-out race one before retiring with suspension damage due to a collision on lap two in the final race.
However, Murphy has at last managed to get some much welcome seat time and race experience in a foreign racing environment and will no doubt be looking to improve.
Virginia International Raceway offers plenty of overtaking opportunities but punishes mistakes and rewards consistency – something Murphy will have to adapt to in his trio of 30-minute races.
The notable ‘climbing esses’ section that derives turns 7 – 10 offers an incredibly complex section of corners with its rapid undulation coupled by quick entry speeds due to the lengthy straight on the led up to the section.
