Two days of motor racing action got the new season under way at Teretonga Park in Invercargill at the weekend.
Saturday featured three South Island Endurance Series races — two one-hour races and a three-hour race — in the final round of the series.
Jordan Michels sealed the South Island class 1 one-hour title for the third year in succession, while fellow Invercargill driver Glen Brazier and co-driver Andrew Waite won the three-hour title.
Steve Brooks (Christchurch) and Willie Exton (Renwick) piloted their Audi R8 to victory in the three-hour race and in doing also became the New Zealand endurance champions.
The duo won the race from Aucklanders Sam Fillmore and Jonny Reid in another Audi, while Scott O’Donnell (Invercargill) and Chris White (Canterbury) were third in their Porsche 991.
Brazier and co-driver Waite, of Auckland, finished fourth in their Lamborghini Huracan, earning them the South Island Endurance Series three-hour title and the GT class title.
Michels won the class 1-3 one-hour race in his Marc Mustang, which secured the class 1 South Island title. Brooks and Hugo Allan (Auckland), in a Porsche 992, were second, and Auckland pair Wei Zhou and Josh Bethune were third.
Oamaru driver Warren Black won the class 4-5 one-hour race in his Audi RS3 LMS. Black, the winner of the race in 2024, held off the O’Donnell/White Hyundai i30N to win, and Queenstown’s Mike Hall was third in his Volkswagen Golf.
On Sunday, the pre-1978 classic saloons held their Queenstown Road Race Revival with four races counting towards the trophy. Eric Swinbourn, of Central Otago, scored enough points across the four races to secure the win.
Cromwell driver Max Perkins won two of the races in his Camaro, one of them the Flying Farewell. Dunedin’s Peter Scobie (Mini) and Swinbourn (Suzuki SC100) also claimed a win apiece.
The club saloons were also on track with Steve Ross (Dunedin) in his TraNZam Jaguar winning two of the three group A races and Pierre Neame (Winton) the other in his Ford Mustang. Brent Dawson, of Invercargill, was prominent in his Nissan Skyline.
In group B, Dunedin driver Ross Jones (Mazda Axela) won the first race after Paul Ritchie (Queenstown) retired in sight of the flag. Warren Kett (Invercargill) won the other two in a Mazda RX7. Invercargill drivers Dave Robertson (Buckler Ace) and Todd Blackmun (Honda Integra) were also to the fore.
Jones also won the Flying Farewell with Bradley Dawson second and Jeremy Skeggs third.
Anthony Kay (Invercargill) showed good speed in his Honda Civic in the club saloon races.
The next race meeting at Teretonga is a two-day event on December 5-6. — Allied Media