The leaderboards of both One-Hour Racer Products South Island Endurance Series races held in Christchurch on Saturday have had a shakeup after the second round was held at the Euromarque Motorsport Park in Ruapuna. Winner of the Class 2 & 3 race, Jordan Michels (MARC Mustang), has taken the lead in both overall and Class 2 (GT Type) while Pel Arnott (Hyundai I30N TCR) won the Class 4 & 5 race, moving to the top of the leaderboard.
Having suffered some bad luck at the opening round on his home track in Invercargill, Michels made sure of winning the Class 2&3 race. Initially it was fastest qualifier Jaden Ransley (Pace Inovations IRC GT) that took the lead only to suffer problems and eventually retire. Michels took over the lead early in the race and was never really threatened.
“An exciting hour,” said Michels. “We struggled yesterday in testing but had an awesome car today with no issues so thanks to the team. We had some hard luck last round so now looking forward to Timaru (final third round).”
A strong performance from Round 1 winner, Hugh Gardiner (Porsche 991.2), saw him hold second for most of the race, only to retire on the final lap with an expired engine. This elevated John Goodacre (Pace Innovations IRC GT Mustang) to second and his first podium, and Luke and Seb Manson (Porsche GT3) into third.
“That’s a great result for the team,” said Goodacre. “Things happen in racing. We were able to have an awesome race, my first podium in a NZ series.”
It was an incident filled race with several Safety Car periods and the race stopped under red flag conditions when the #5 Porsche of Matt Williams and Jayden Dodge hit the wall after ‘Pothole’. Adam Julian (Audi GT3), having finished second in the opening round, also struggled with car issues and eventually finished four-laps down.
Michels how takes a 12-point lead in the overall standings ahead of Goodacre with the Porsche GT3 Cup 992 of Steve Brooks and Bill Riding moving up into third ahead of Paul Kelly (Porsche 992 Cup Car and Julian in fifth.
Sixth overall is Steve Scoles (Ginetta G56) who was the first Class 3 (>3501cc) home. He leads Class 3 ahead of James Paterson (Audi R8 Turbo) and David Rogers (McLaren 570s GT4).
Pel Arnott had a faultless Class 4&5 race taking overall and Class 4 victory. It was a Hyundai I30N TCR podium with Dylan Petch finishing second ahead of Blake Knowles. Fourth home was round one winner, Warren Black (Audi RS3 LMS TCR) with Mike Hall (VW TCR) in fifth.
“Really happy, stoked for the guys who gave me a decent car so nice to reward them,” commented Arnott. “Also, a big thanks to the lapped traffic, they were really good.”
Initially it was the Toyota GT86 of Grant and Ben Williams, who set the fastest lap in qualifying, that lead the race for the first 13 -laps until their engine let go, dropping oil on the track with several cars skidding off, necessitating a Safety Car period. Second placed Knowles took avoiding action which allowed Arnott to take the lead which he held for the rest of the race.
Having missed the opening round, Dylan Petch impressed with a solid second having started down the grid in ninth.
“It was good, pretty hot work out there,” said Petch. “I took the first few laps quietly just trying to get through a few cars. There were a couple of fortuitous safety cars that brought us into the mix which helped us get through. Blake (Knowles) pushed us all the way.”
Arnott leads the overall points tally eight ahead of Black with Knowles third.
“That was a good race,” said Knowles. “It got pretty busy. Was a bit annoying with the dropping of oil as I got caught in it big time, but it is what it is. I’ve got another podium so pretty pleased with that.”
The rivalry in Class 5 (0-2000cc) saw Donavan Isted (Honda Civic) beat home Round One winner Chris Wall (Honda Civic).
“It was a good battle with Chris (Wall), said Isted. “After pitting we came out in front so looking forward to the final round”
Isted and Wall are now tied on 185-points with Rhys Turner (Honda Civic) in third.
Teams and drivers take a three-week break before the final round gets underway at the Timaru International Raceway just outside Timaru on Saturday 19 October 2024.
Overall Points One-Hour Class 2&3 (Pos, Driver/s, Car, Class, Points)
1/ Jordan Michels, Marc II Mustang, 2, 181
2/ John Goodacre, Pace Inovations IRC GT, 2, 169
3/ Steve Brooks/Bill Riding, Porsche GT3 Cup 992, 2, 164
4/ Paul Kelly, Porsche 992 Cup Car, 2, 149
5/ Adam Julian, Audi R8 GT3, 2, 144
6/ Steve Scoles, Ginetta G56, 3, 137
7/ Nick Wright, Porsche 991, 2, 128
8/ Angus McFarlane & Michael Bushell, Porsche GT3 Cup 996, 3, 120
9= James Paterson, Audi R8 Turbo, 3, 118
9= David Rogers, McLaren 570S GT4, 3, 118
11/ Hugh Gardiner, Porsche 991.2, 2, 115
12/ Luke & Seb Manson, Porsche GT3 Cup 992, 2, 86
13/ William Exton, Porsche 991.2, 2, 79
14/ Rhys Gould, Pace Inovations IRC GT, 2, 76
15/ Steve Sullivan, Porsche 991, 2, 73
16/ Martin Dippie/Alan Dippie, Porsche GT3 Cup 992, 2, 70
17/ Marco & Vin Schelp, Porsche GT3 Cup S, 2, 67
18/ James Parker, Pace Inovations IRC GT, 2, 60
19/ Grant Silvester, Ford Mustang, 3, 40
20/ Brayden Phillips, Howe GT Mustang, 3, 30
21= Jaden Ransley, Pace Inovations IRC GT, 2, 20
21= Roger Nees, Dodge Challenger, 3, 20
21= Matt Williams & Jayden Dodge, Porsche 997.2, 2, 20
Overall Points One-Hour Class 4&5 (Pos, Driver/s, Car, Class, Points)
1/ Pel Arnott, Hyundai I30N TCR, 4, 185
2/ Warren Black, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 4, 177
3/ Blake Knowles, Hyundai I30N TCR, 4, 172
4/ Mike Hall, Volkswagon Golf TCR, 4, 161
5/ Russell McKenzie, BMW M3, 4, 155
6/ Dale Chapman, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 4, 149
7= Chris Wall, Honda Civic, 5, 134
7= Donovan Isted, Honda Civic, 5, 134
9/ Dennis Chapman, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 4 133
10/ Duncan Cundal-Curry, BMW M1, 4, 126
11/ Rhys Turner, Honda Civic, 5, 118
12/ James Mitchell, Honda Civic, 5, 110
13/ Jordan Rae, Honda Civic, 5, 105
14/ Chris White Jnr & Will Neale, Mazda RX8, 4, 104
15/ Peter Sutherland, Honda Civic, 5, 93
16/ Peter Bennetts, Seat Supercopa, 4, 92
17/ Harry Townshend, Toyota 86, 5, 91
18/ Dylan Petch, Hyundai I30N TCR, 4, 90
19/ Neiko Scoles, Toyota 86, 5, 89
20/ Mac Berkett, Mazda RX8, 4, 88
21/ Vaughan Moloney, Honda S2000, 5, 85
22/ Arthur Broughan, Mazda RX8, 4, 76
23/ Grant & Ben Williams, Toyota GT86, 4, 74
24/ Matthew O’Donnell, Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 4, 70
25/ Ajay Giddy, Toyota 86, 5, 65
26/ Gordon Legge, BMW E30, 5, 60
27/ Paul Booth & David Booth, BMW E36, 4, 58
28/ Zach Blincoe, Toyota 86, 5, 46
29/ Thomas Mallard & Cormac Murphy, Toyota 86, 5, 44
30= Dan Kelly, BMW E46, 4, 20
30= Jarred Morgan, Honda Civic, 5, 20
30= Will Taylor, Honda Intergra, 5, 20
30= Mark Neville, Subaru Impreza, 4, 20
34/ Andre Simon & Ben Silcock, Toyota 86, 4, 10
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