Team New Zealand Motorsport will be back in action this coming weekend (5-7 August) as the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup resumes for its second round, the series returning to Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit for a pair of 1-hour duration races.
Following their GT class victory at the inaugural event of the season at the Sepang Circuit in May, the team will be aiming to maintain that podium sequence this weekend. Graeme Dowsett and John Curran will be back behind the wheel of the team’s #77 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup as they fully utilise the opportunity of the ‘Sprint Cup’ for both drivers and team to develop further as they start to look towards the team’s next major endurance race participation.
The Asian Le Mans Series Sprint Cup is a new initiative from the ACO and is reserved for LMP3, CN and GT Cup cars; it builds on the inaugural 2015/2016 season of the Asian Le Mans Series. The ‘Sprint Cup’ events feature two 1-hour long races with pitstops and driver changes with all three rounds taking place at Sepang International Circuit.
The Sprint Cup is exclusively reserved for Bronze and Silver level drivers and that makes it a perfect fit for the team, giving John and Graeme a great platform to fight against other drivers currently at a very similar career level.
While Team New Zealand Motorsport is an amateur status team, they are highly ambitious, determined to grow and results-driven.
That Sprint Cup win added to the team’s superb record in racing so far, notably three podium finishes from three major endurance race entries. Twice on the rostrum in the Sepang 12 Hours and once at the Bathurst 12 Hours, including a stunning debut GT Class victory in the former race in 2014.
The team enjoyed something of a mixed debut in the first round of the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup as technical problems during the closing laps cost a trip to the podium in the first race. They dug in and bounced back in Race 2 as John and Graeme raised their game and set new personal best lap times while the pit crew performed flawlessly giving the team a clear cut victory.
Going into this weekend Graeme and John are equal third in the Drivers’ championship thanks to that Race 2 win and have 25 points apiece. The classification leaders currently have 44 points so there is still all to play for albeit with plenty of work to do if they are going to mount a serious title challenge with two rounds and four races still remaining.
The team is based in Singapore and with strong New Zealand, Malaysian and Irish connections and regard Sepang Circuit as their ‘home’ track.
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