The Porsche 718 GT4 Clubsport seemed ideally suited to the challenging Canterbury circuit, The first round of the South Island Endurance series was run over the weekend at Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Ruapuna and the Giltrap Group Motorsport team took home some silverware driving the Giltrap Group / SIXT Porsche 718 Cayman GT4. Contesting the three-hour race amidst a full field of highly acclaimed drivers including Greg Murphy, Jonny Reid and Chris van der Drift the Giltrap Group Motorsport driving pair of Simon Evans and Marco Giltrap drove a near textbook race to finish 12th overall and first in their Class 3 category for 3501cc and over cars, including FIA GT4 spec. With Marco Giltrap taking the start line there was a lot of pressure in the earlier stages of the race to navigate the field while the natural rhythm and race pace was established. The young Aucklander showed excellent race craft at settling in to the first stint, keeping the car clear of trouble and maintaining the pace for others in the category to follow. Giltrap handed the 718 GT4 Clubsport to the seasoned Evans mid race, who continued the winning form taking to take the chequered flag. Evans, a former Jaguar I Pace eTrophy Championship winner, was full of praise post-race for Giltrap and the rest of the Giltrap Group Motorsport team. “Marco had a great first stint, there’s always a lot to consider with endurance racing, especially when there’s a big field and big speed differences between all the cars. He did an awesome job of keeping the car clean and in a winning position for me to just bring it home. Great to finish 12th overall, but obviously very happy for the Class 3 win.”  The 718 GT4 Clubsport seemed ideally suited to the challenging Canterbury circuit, and both Evans and Giltrap relished their respective time behind the wheel. “The balance of the car was great,” said Giltrap. A big step up from the Toyota 86 in terms of performance, but still a remarkably fun car to drive. It’s been a great effort by the Giltrap Group motorsport team in setting the car up and managing the race strategy this weekend” The team have three-weeks gap before the South Island Endurance Series resumes at Teretonga Park in Invercargill, 24 September 2022.
