Twenty-year-old Auckland based co-driver Kieran Anstis has successfully completed the first Rally New Zealand Co-Drivers Academy in Auckland. The academy is an investment from Rally New Zealand to help develop local New Zealand Co Driving Talent. Run over three days, six up and coming co-drivers from across New Zealand have been mentored by professional international co-drivers Alex and Rhiannon Gelsomino.
Nick Cassidy is staying right in the hunt for Japan’s SUPER GT Championship after finishing sixth in the Fuji 300 kms race last night in his Lexus LC500 with team-mate Ryo Hirakawa.
The pair are only two points behind Englishman James Rossiter who finished fourth in the latest round of Japan’s major series. The FUJI GT 300km RACE was held at the Fuji Speedway with victory for the GT500 class going to the No. 8 ARTA NSX-GT (Tomoki Nojiri/Takashi Kobayashi) and the GT300 class win to the No.55 ARTA BMW M6 GT3 (Shinichi Takagi/Sean Walkinshaw) – pictured
For close to 100 years the prospect of racing from Auckland to Wellington in record time has tempted keen drivers. This year the organisers of the annual Targa New Zealand tarmac motor rally are giving entrants the chance to do it within the law.
Sometimes dreams do come true.
For Cromwell race car driver Andrew Waite, his came in the form of a text message out of the blue two months ago, getting a call-up to race in one of the biggest motor races in the world.
Waite returned to work at Highlands Motorsport Park on Tuesday after completing two rounds of the four round circuit in the FRD LMP3 Series in China. And winning.
"It seems too good to be true. It was literally just a text message. I have literally dreamed about a message like that to come true."
A disappointed but optimistic Brendon Hartley is exploring all his options for next year after learning he will not be an LMP1 driver from the end of the 2017 World Endurance Championship season.
Alongside fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber, Hartley was one of six drivers affected when Porsche last week confirmed speculation they would soon cease to be part of the series' marquee category.
The German manufacturer did say their LMP1 team and all drivers would be kept "fully intact" but it remains to be seen where each driver ends up for 2018.
Rising rally co-driver star Samantha Gray is starting to find some real traction.
Timaru-born Gray, who is a 4th year Lincoln University student, has been selected to attend the Rally New Zealand co-drivers academy.
Gray said it was the first time a specific co-drivers academy has been run and it was the first of its type in the world.
Rally New Zealand have enlisted professional rally co-drivers Alex and Rhianon Gelsomino to host the academy.
With two stages of the International Rally of Whangarei to go and every prospect of a podium finish Michael McLean smelt smoke.
Then he saw flames coming through the fire wall and it was time to stop, get out and race for the fire extinguishers.
Michael was competing in the rally from April 28-30, the second round of the New Zealand Rally Championships which doubles as the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championships.
This rally attracted some of the best international rally drivers and was won by Gurav Gill of India.
Fifty years ago, the Hamilton Car Club ran a competitive motorsport event which is now regarded as the first rally in New Zealand.
The May 1967 event was called the Rally of the Pines and was won by club member Bill Purvis in a 1951 Morris Minor that he rebuilt after bidding for it as a write-off in an insurance company tender – it was both his road car and designed to perform well enough to satisfy his sporting needs.
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