Super Sprint series underway in Taupo this weekend

The first round of seven for the 2023/24 Super Sprint MotorSport New Zealand Championship season begins this weekend with six categories taking to the Taupō International Motorsport Park in Taupo.

Starting its 11th season with new and some returning drivers the Toyota 86 Championship is proving a stepping-stone path for bringing talent through the ranks in preparation for greater challenges. There are 24 entries lining up on the grid including nine rookies and four female drivers.

**Brock Gilchrist won the 2022/23 TR86 Championship – Picture Bruce Jenkins.**

The Summerset GT New Zealand series sees a diverse mix of factory specification cars from Mercedes-Benz AMG, McLaren to Porsche, including four of the latest generation Porsche 911 series 992 cars.

Several new and young drivers including Regan Scoullar (Porsche 991.2), Ayrton Hodson (Porsche 991.1) while Brooklyn Horan will join the grid alongside his father Raana Horan. Giltrap Motorsport Junior Scholarship (GMJS) winner Brock Gilchrist will take to the wheel of the SP Tools McLaren 570S for his first race of the season.

**Next generation V8 racing: Auckland’s Andrew Sinclair was crowned the inaugural TA2 title winner at Hampton Downs**

The Hamilton Asphalts Super V8 combines several categories including V8 Utes (11 entries), TA2 (eight entries) and a mix of V8 SuperTourers as well as the new MARC GT car, driven by Gene Rollinson. Category organisers are expecting 25 starters, increasing during the season to 30.

The Pirelli Porsche Series has a mix of models from early 911 through to late model Boxster. It is the second of six rounds for the category which will be involved in two the Super Sprint meetings this summer.

**Chris White Junior of Prebbleton, the round winner of Round 1 of the Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series – photo Geoff Ridder.**

The Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series will see 24 RX7 and RX8s on the grid. Christchurch’s 16-year-old Chris White Junior currently leads the series after winning two races and finishing second in the other – at the season opener,

It’s the first of three events for the TradeZone GTRNZ series on the Super Sprint calendar for the 2023/24 season. With an entry list of 60 cars, there are four classes based on speed to create two individual race groups. There will be 19 in the GT1 and GT2 field with 31 in the GT3/GT4 group.

The series will again be televised live on Sky Sport in New Zealand and Fox Sports in Australia, as well as Pasifika television.