An exciting interisland battle looms as the Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series heads to Teretonga Park in Invercargill this weekend for Round 1 of their National Series. The southerners in the field will also be chasing points as the event is also Round 3 of the South Island Series.

The category has provided frantic racing over the past couple of seasons and at Teretonga Park this weekend the respective leaders of both the North and South Island Series, Rex Edwards of Tauranga and Will Kitching of Timaru, go head-to- head for the first time this season.

Edwards currently leads the North Island Series and won that same title in 2022/2023 while he was the National Series runner-up in 2021/2022. Meanwhile Kitching has a good lead in the South Island points. In his first year in the category last season, he was third overall in the New Zealand title race and second in the South Island Series. 

Neither will have it all their own way however as Stuart Lawton of Paraparaumu and Jesse Gould of Raumati Beach have both been in top form in the hard-fought racing in the North Island Series. Alex Canty and Phil Clemas of Auckland also come south and will be strong competitors.

The best of the south will be up for the fight however. Mac Templeton of Prebbleton in Canterbury took round honours at the most recent North Island Series round as he races in both islands this year while Matt Dodd of Christchurch is currently second in the South Island points, having been in the top three of the South Island Series for the past two seasons. Mac Berkett of Nelson is currently third in the South Island points in an impressive rookie campaign while Aucklander Ant Tork, competing in the south this season and Dalan Price of Swannanoa near Christchurch will both be factors.

An extra carrot in the battle over the four rounds of the National Series will be the Founders Trophy fought between the North and South Island. The trophy is currently held by the North Island.

The series will race as part of the Ascot Park Hotel Teretonga International at Teretonga Park, Round 5 of the Repco NextGen NZ Championship. The programme also includes the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship with some of the best up and coming drivers from around the globe with nine different country’s represented on the grid.   

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