Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell host this weekend’s 2022 New Zealand Endurance Championship with two separate 60-minute winner-takes-all races that will decide both overall and Class titles in the One-Hour category. All competitors in both the separate 2022 North and South Island series are eligible to enter with some tough competition lining up on the grid this Saturday (29 October 2022).
Sam Collins (MARC Mustang) may prove the one to beat in the Class 2 & 3 (GT type and >3501cc including GT4 categories) race having won both 2022 South and North Island Series titles.
With three-quarters of the field from the Porsche marque, there will be some serious competition for Collins, particularly from Heremana Malmezac (Porche 991 Cup MR) who finished fourth overall in both the One and Three-Hour South Island series. Marco Schelp (Porsche GT3 Cup S) has a winning record while Marco Giltrap (Porsche 991 Gen 2), Steve Brooks (Porsche 992 Cup Car), Bill Riding (Porsche 991 Cup Car) and Jordan Michels (Ford Focus V8) will also be in the mix.
In the Class 4 & 5 (0-2000cc and 2001-3500cc categories) One-Hour race, it may be a battle of the TCR cars for the overall title. While Andre Simons (Toyota 86 Turbo) was one of the quickest in the recent South Island series, he was let down by reliability issues and will be up against Grant Askew/Cole Askew (VW GTi TCR), Mike Hall (VW GTi TCR) and Warren Black (Audi RS3 TCR). Throw in the mix Marco Schelp (BMW E46 WTC GTR), who won his category in the North Island series and is competing in both One-Hour races, and we have a competitive final. Brad Rule (Honda Civic) recently won the South Island Class 5 title and finished a credible third overall and will be hard to beat on Saturday.
Qualifying takes place at 9:00am (Class 4 & 5) and 9:25am (Class 2 & 3) with the Class 4 & 5 race starting at 10:20am and the Class 2 & 3 race at 11:40am.
Class 2 & 3 Entries (#, Driver/s, Car)
9 Marco Schelp Porsche GT3 Cup S
11 Grant Aitken Porsche GT4
23 Jordan Michels Ford Focus
24 Nigel Cromie Mclaren 570s GT4
34 Glen Brazier Porsche 991.1 GT3 cup
66 Mike Driver Porsche Cayman GT4
69 Steve Sullivan Porsche 991 GT3
83 John Buchanan Porsche GT4
84 Adam Julian Porsche 997.2 GT3 Cup
84 Marco Giltrap Porsche 991 Gen 2
88 Steve Brooks Porsche 992 Cup Car
91 Bill Riding Porsche 991 Cup Car
97 Hamish Wilton Ford SuperTourer
148 Garry Derrick/Ben Derrick Porsche 991.2
185 Martin Neill Porsche 991 GT3 CUP
666 Grant Silvester Ford Mustang
718 Oliver Saxton/Ray Williams Porsche GT4 Cayman
777 Sam Collins MARC Mustang
909 Francois Beziac Porsche 991 Cup MR
910 Heremana Malmezac Porsche 991 Cup MR
Class 4 & 5 Entry list (#, Driver/s, Car)
10 Brad Rule Honda Civic
18 Flyn Mitchell Mazda RX8
19 Marco Schelp BMW E46 WTC GTR
20 Andrew Brunton/Jarrod Parmenter Mazda RX8
28 Chris Wall Honda Civc
30 Saxon Sheehan Toyota TR86
45 Mal Walters Mazda RX8
61 Kynan Yu/David McAlpine Seat Supercopa
65 Grant Askew/Cole Askew Golf GTI TCR
68 Russell McKenzie BMW M3 E46 Coupe
93 Warren Black Audi RS3 TCR
99 William Taylor Honda Type R
102 Rianna O’Meara-Hunt Toyota 86
114 Kristopher Mackie Mazda Rx8
115 Mark Meadows Lotus Exige
117 Michael Hall Golf GTi TCR
123 Peter Bennetts Seat Supercopa
199 Marcus Barnett Seat Supercopa
220 Denzil Travers Audi TCR
275 Tim Mackersy VW Golf
417 Ben Silcock Honda CRX
486 Andre Simon Toyota 86
505 Jacob Gjaja Lotus Exige
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