Southlanders could well be watching a future Formula 1 star or two when they attend this weekend’s SpeedWorks Events Motorsport New Zealand Premier Championship race meeting at Teretonga Park.

Over the past few years drivers such as Daniil Kvyat of Russia, kiwi Brendon Hartley and Canadian Lance Stroll have all competed here in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series before going on to Formula 1 stardom while others such as Lando Norris are close to that achievement. This year Richard Verschoor of the Netherlands, part of the Red Bull Junior Team, and New Zealand’s own Marcus Armstrong who is part of the Ferrari Driver Academy are two who could make the same progression. Local driver Brendon Leitch has shown that he can be more than competitive at this level and would dearly love to bounce back after a tough opening round at his home circuit. Drivers from the United States, France, Russia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Guyana and of course New Zealand grace the grid.

The BNT V8’s and the  are two other headline categories at the event. Southlanders love the big V8s and this year former Australia Supercar star, Jason Bargwanna, and his teammate in the Toyota team, Andre Heimgartner, who is destined for a fulltime Supercar drive with Nissan in this year’s Australian Supercar Championship are the men to beat in the class. Chasing them hard are Nick Ross from Cambridge in his Nissan Altima and Australian Jack Smith in a Commodore. In Class 2 Southlanders will have Liam MacDonald, the defending champion, to cheer on as he leads the series again this year. His main opposition this season comes from Chelsea Herbert of Auckland.

The NZ Super Trucks always attract a crowd with their unbelievable racing. Defending Champion Troy Wheeler returns while local hopes rest with Garry Price of Winton, a winner at Teretonga last season.

Southlanders will be to the fore in the F1600 Championship with Jordan Michels and Ethan Anderson frontrunners along with their chief rivals, 13-year-old Callum Hedge of Pukekohe, Josh Bethune of Auckland and Bailey Paterson of Christchurch.

Southlanders also feature in the class battles with Noel Atley and his grandson Joseph Oliver prominent in Class 2 and 3 respectively. After spending much of the Christmas period testing his Australian Formula Ford car at Teretonga Australian Tommy Smith will race a leased car at this round.

The Toyota 86 Series is a hard fought category where many more of New Zealand’s up and coming young stars can be found. Racing should be extremely close around Teretonga with plenty in the field capable of winning.

Other classes include OSCA Saloons with some very fast saloons and the Pirelli Porsche Series while a new addition this year is the Speedworks Rush Hour race utilising the southern twilight on Saturday evening. The Rush Hour is expected to bring some spectacular machinery to the grid.

https://whatsoninvers.nz/events/castrol-toyota-racing-series-round-two/

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