The fourth round of the Porsche New Zealand Endurance Championship, held last weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park, saw standout performances from Marco Giltrap and Rick Armstrong.
Marco Giltrap dominated the event, securing pole position and winning all three outright races in his Giltrap Motorsport Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car. Meanwhile, Rick Armstrong extended his lead in the overall Porsche Endurance Trophy and reclaimed the top spot in the GT New Zealand Championship.
Armstrong, who had lost his championship lead at Teretonga the previous week, made a strong comeback at Highlands. With one round remaining, he heads to the Hampton Downs finale with the potential to claim both the Porsche New Zealand Endurance Trophy and the overall Summerset GT New Zealand Championship.
The racing at Highlands was fiercely competitive. Giltrap secured the outright and Junior Pro pole position, with Armstrong in second. Luke Manson, Sam Fillmore, and Paul Kelly rounded out the top five qualifiers. Manson’s performance was particularly impressive, given his IMS Racing crew’s late-night rebuild of his 992 GT3 Cup Car after a practice crash.
In the GT4 class, Zoe Woods edged out Tony and Kent Quinn for pole position.
Giltrap led the one-hour enduro from start to finish, despite a late Safety Car intervention. Armstrong fended off rivals to claim the open class win and finish second outright, retaking the GT New Zealand Championship lead. Fillmore, the reigning Porsche Endurance NZ champion, faced challenges, including a late-race spin.
Sunday’s pair of 30-minute sprint races saw Giltrap continue his dominance, winning both races, just one week before the opening round of his 2025 Carrera Cup Australia campaign. Armstrong finished second, securing the Open class win and extending his series lead. Manson took third place in both races, while Fillmore recovered to finish fourth in race two before a penalty in the finale.
That finale’ saw stout performances from Paul Kelly and 991.2 steerer Shaun Varney, who raced hard and fought with Manson for the final step on the podium.
Zoe Woods and Kent Quinn shared the victories in the GT4 class aboard their pair of Cayman 718 GT4 CS entries.
With one round remaining, Armstrong leads the Porsche Endurance Trophy by 90 points. Manson’s recent form has moved him to second place, 27 points ahead of Fillmore. Both remain in title contention, though they would need Armstrong to falter in the final round. Kelly is in contention for a podium spot, with Sam Cotterill next.
Marco Giltrap has clinched the Junior Pro title, while Zoe Woods leads the GT4 class.
The final round of the Porsche Endurance Trophy New Zealand will take place at the Dayle ITM Hampton Downs Grand Finale, the last round of the NEXTGEN NZ Championships, on March 21-23.
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