Two days of motor racing action will get the new season off to a great start at Teretonga Park in Invercargill this weekend. Saturday sees the South Island Endurance Series on track with two One-Hour races along with the feature event, a Three-Hour race which in addition to being the final of the South Island Series is also the race for the New Zealand title.
The opening round of the Three-Hour series at Timaru was cancelled so with only one round held to date and this being the final round Invercargill driver Glen Brazier and his co-driver Andrew Waite lead the series in their Lamborghini Huracan. The duo was second here last year, and this year face some very competitive combinations.
Previous winners Sam Fillmore and Jonny Reid of Auckland line up in an Audi R8, the pair having won the Three-Hour at Teretonga Park together in 2022 and 2025. Prior to teaming up Fillmore won it in 2016 while Reid took victory in 2018 and 2019. Steve Brooks and Willie Exton are in a similar car with Brooks also a former winner in 2024. Of interest is the entry of Wei Zhou and Josh Bethune in a McLaren Artura and 2015 race winner Scott O’Donnell of Invercargill alongside up and coming star Chris White in his Porsche 991.
There are also two one-hour races on the Saturday, the first for Class 4 and 5 cars featuring locals such as Nieko Scoles and Scott O’Donnell while the other 1 Hour race is for Class 1, 2 and 3 cars where another Invercargill driver, Jordan Michels, leads the series in his Class 1 Marc Mustang. Michels is the defending series champion.
His chief rivals will be Cantabrians Steve Brooks in a Porsche 992, Blake Knowles in a Porsche 997 and Hugh Gardiner of Auckland in a Porsche 991.2 as well as several other competitive combinations. David Rogers of Auckland lines up in his McLaren 570S while Wei Zhou and Bethune are also on the grid in the McLaren Artura.
Sunday sees a completely different day of racing with a day of Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloon racing plus Pre 78 Saloons and also a Regularity Trial.
The Club Saloons field is a good one which includes Steve Ross of Dunedin in his Transam Jaguar, Dion Dawson of Invercargill in his Saker and Pierre Neame of Winton in his Mustang while in Pre 78 Saloons there is a fantastic array of machinery from a Camaro and a Mustang along with Datsun 1200’s, Ford Capri’s, Vauxhall Viva’s, a Daimler XJ6, Alfa Alfetta, Fiat 850, Suzuki SC100 and more.
Tickets for Saturday’s Endurance racing will be sold at the gate on the day at a cost of $20 while children 14 & under are free while Sunday’s programme features free entry for all.
The on-track action on Saturday commences at 9am while on Sunday it begins at 10am.
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