The Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series has provided some of the best motor racing action of the summer this season and that level of excitement looks set to continue at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, North Waikato, this weekend (16/17 March) as a field of twenty-seven competitors battle it out in Round 3 of both the New Zealand and North Island Championship of the series.
Having already wrapped up the South Island title for this season Chris White of Prebbleton in Canterbury arrives at this weekend’s round leading both the National and North Island Championship points after taking the top step of the podium at the opening rounds of both championships to date.
In the National Championship he leads from Timaru driver Will Kitching who ventures north to continue his impressive rookie campaign while Aucklander Karl Gaines sits third, close behind Kitching. Others lining up who are prominent in the battle are Aucklanders Sam Dashfield, Warren Crowther and ex-pat South African Stiaan Kriel while Matt Dodd (main photo) of Christchurch is another southerner heading north for the round.
White leads the North Island Championship battle from Aucklanders Leo Bult, Crowther, Gaines, Nigel Edger, Steve Brown, Lance Gerlach and Elton Wichman as well as Stu Lawton of Wellington who are all fighting it out within the top ten.
Missing from the action this weekend is reigning national champion Simon Baker while there will be much interest in the form of young karting graduates Arthur Broughan of Tuamarina near Blenheim and Mac Templeton of Prebbleton who showed plenty of speed in their South Island debut appearances.
The quality of the racing in the respective championships to date has been absolutely superb and with another large field vying for points this weekend expect plenty more action at Hampton Downs.
The Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series competitors face their traditional race format this weekend with qualifying on Saturday morning before a 10-lap race later that afternoon. On Sunday morning a 12-lap race, with a grid where the top ten is based on the reverse order of the previous day’s result, is followed by a 10-lap finale that afternoon.
For those who cannot be trackside this weekend Sky Sport will have coverage of Sunday’s action featuring the Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series final two races of the round.
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