Outstanding Fields For Endurance Races At Teretonga Park

Another absolutely superb line up of racing machinery will be on track at Teretonga Park this Saturday when the opening round of the 2019 Carter’s Tyre Service South Island Endurance Series takes place.

Featuring both a 1 Hour and 3 Hour Race the range of machinery on track is absolutely stunning with marques such as Aston Martin, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, BMW, Lotus and Chev Camaro to name just a few.

The feature race is the 3 Hour event timed to start at 1.30pm. Over the past few years the race has often featured some epic twists and turns in the final minutes.

Former Team New Zealand A1GP driver Jonny Reid and team mate Neil Foster of Rotorua were declared the winners in their Audi R8 LMS Ultra after a controversial finish last year that saw the first car to cross the line, the Aston Martin Vantage of Tony Quinn and Damon Leitch, disqualified. Reid and Foster set a new lap record last year and return to defend their title this year but will meet tough opposition with Quinn and Leitch back again in their Aston Martin GT3 while Simon Gilbertson and John McIntyre in a Camaro, series sponsors Dwayne & Matt Carter in a Porsche a Porsche 997 GT3, Ben Byers and Christina Orr-West in an Audi R8 and Scott O’Donnell and Allan Dippie (Porsche 991 GT3 R) and several others all capable of taking the win.

The quality of the entry is of no lesser quality in the 1 Hour race with David McAlpine and Kynan Yu in a McLaren GT4, last year’s runners-up O’Donnell and Dippie in a Porsche GT3 Cup S, Cantabrians Angus McFarlane/Michael Bushell plus Danny Whiting in their Porsches all among the favourites. However, while there are exotic marques aplenty in the 1 Hour event it has been Chris Henderson of Dunedin who has been victorious the last two years with his Toyota Corolla AE86 powered by a V8 engine. Last year’s win came after an action-packed race won by Henderson by just over 4 seconds from O’Donnell/Dippie.

Reigning New Zealand Formula 1600 Champion Jordan Michels of Invercargill will debut his new Team Williams Racing Honda Fk7 TCR car in the 1 Hour race as he prepares to race it in the new TCR New Zealand Championship over the summer months.

Pre-sale tickets, which cost just $15 are available at E Hayes & Sons, Dee Street and Auto Centre Tweed Street, Invercargill. Children 14 & under are free to attend. Tickets sold at the gate on the day cost $20 each. The action begins from 9.30am.