Giddy wins in Mazda Racing Super Series

Fourteen-year-old Ajay Giddy of Auckland raced to victory in the opening race of Round 2 of the 2025/2026 Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Super Series at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in North Waikato today (Saturday).

Series rookie Giddy had qualified fastest for the race with championship leader Callum Pratt of Auckland alongside followed by Rex Edwards of Tauranga, Sam Dashfield of Auckland, James Black of Dunedin with Simon Baker next.

It was Edwards though who led at the end of the first lap with Giddy close behind and Pratt third but the championship leader’s race unravelled on lap 2 when Pratt’s car went into limp mode.

Ajay Giddy of Auckland after setting the fastest time in qualifying at Round 2 of the 2025/2026 Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Super Series at the NZIGP Omnigraphics Waikato Challenge at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in North Waikato today – photo Geoff Ridder.

Edwards and Giddy were raging a close battle at the front until lap 6 when Giddy got through and took the lead which he held to the finish, extending the margin to 3.196 seconds at the chequered flag. Edwards maintained second place with Sam Dashfield, in his first appearance in this year’s series, completing the podium.

Black crossed the line fourth with Baker fifth and Alex Canty of Auckland backing up his good form of the opening round with sixth place.

Jesse Gould of Raumati Beach and Steve Brown of Auckland came through from eleventh and twelfth on the grid to snatch seventh and eighth respectively with Brown taking Masters (Over 50) honours for the day. Stu Lawton (Paraparaumu) and Tomas Climo (Hamilton) rounded out the top ten with Bryan Walker of Christchurch eleventh.

***Rex Edwards of Tauranga #16 and Ajay Giddy of Auckland #10 battling early in the opening race***

Rookie Rudi Kronstrom came from the back of the grid to come home in sixteenth while Elton Wichman blew a fanbelt late in the race dropping him down the order and Steven Spear suffered from overheating.

Giddy recorded the fastest lap of the race on his way to victory with a time of 1 minute 15.938 seconds.

The action, which is part of the NZIGP Omnigraphics Waikato Challenge, continues tomorrow (Sunday) with a 12-lap race early in the day with a starting grid based on the reverse top ten from today’s finishing order before a 10-lap race in the afternoon, this time with a starting grid determined by points scored to that point of the weekend.