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Kiwis end Formula E, Leitch wins Nurburgring, Giltrap leads

Despite the end of many '23 racing seasons in sight, there's been no let up in the action from Kiwis competing around the world.

Despite the end of many '23 racing seasons in sight, there's been no let up in the action from Kiwis competing around the world. Images: Formula E, Red Bull Ampol Racing, Leipert Racing, Formula Regionals America, Prosche Motorsport Australia

Kiwis dominate Formula E in London, but the overall championship slips from their grasp.

While the Brit, Jake Dennis, would claim enough points to secure the Formula E championship, even he was no match for the two Kiwis, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy, in London.

In the first race, Dennis headed into the race 24 points clear of Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing) - who started from pole. Cassidy (Envision Racing) led in the earlier stages of the race but would concede first place to eventual winner and countryman Mitch Evans on Lap 11, and second spot to teammate Sebastien Buemi. However, with Cassidy running close behind Buemi and fighting for the driver’s championship, Buemi aggressively defended an overtake move from Cassidy. The two Envision drivers came together, and Cassidy’s front wing was dislodged, catching beneath his left-front wheel. Repairs were attempted, but his race couldn't be salvaged – Buemi ruined Cassidy’s shot at the championship.

Dennis held fast to ensure he'd take top championship honours, finishing second just behind Mitch Evans. Cassidy’s misfortune netted him zero points, and Evans leapfrogged to second in the championship.

In the season finale race, only 7 points separated Cassidy’s Envision Racing and Evan’s Jaguar TCS Racing in the teams' championship. In a very slick, wet race, Cassidy and Evans were in a class of their own. Cassidy led the race comfortably with Evans conserving energy while still staying within striking distance. The rest of the field spent most of the race several seconds behind the Kiwis.

In the final third of the race, Evans pushed hard, eroding Cassidy’s lead and setting the fastest lap in the process. Cassidy responded with another fastest lap, however, and extended his lead, forcing Evans to follow in the hope Cassidy would make a mistake.

Cassidy drove flawlessly, however, taking the win and reclaiming his second position in the championship. Evans has claimed third in the championship.


Brendon Leitch wins at Nürburgring

Kiwi Brendon Leitch has followed up a P2 in the first race with a remarkable victory in Race 2 of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe series at the Nürburgring, showcasing an impressive comeback in the latter part of the race.

The event began under the Safety Car due to dry track conditions, but a heavy collision between Nigel Schoonderwoerd and Ibrahim Badawy at turn 1 caused a temporary halt. The race resumed on lap 7, with drivers attempting to take advantage of the pit stop window for driver changes.

A fierce battle for the lead unfolded between Amaury Bonduel and Loris Spinelli, ultimately favoring Dean Arrow, who managed to take the lead.

During the pit stops, Spinelli handed over to his teammate Andrzej Lewandowski, and Arrow's teammate, Abbey Eaton, encountered some problems. Brendon Leitch and Bonduel capitalized on the situation, overtaking Eaton and Lewandowski. Leitch successfully held off Bonduel to secure victory for Leipert Motorsport, propelling them to the top of the championship standings.


Giltrap retains Porsche Michelin Sprint Championship lead over Murphy

It has been a challenging couple of days in the office for Marco Giltrap at Sydney Motorsport Park. The Kiwi driver was under pressure all weekend and fought hard to maintain his overall championship lead in the Porsche Australia Michelin Sprint series.

In race one, Giltrap would drive to fifth behind Ronan Murphy and ahead of Porsche New Zealand / EBM teammate, Zac Stichbury. The Kiwis were unable to match the local drivers and TekworkX teammates, Nash Morris and Aron Shields, who took P1 and P2, respectively.

In a repeat of the Saturday night race, the two TekworkX cars again were unstoppable, with Morris and Shields being the only two drivers to set lap times in the 1m 32s range in the race and would gap the field by almost ten seconds. Giltrap made a brilliant overtake to take third place, capitalising on a slight error from Lachlan Bloxsom to dive down the inside at turn seven on lap before covering aggressively at turn eight.


Hedge extends Formula Regional Americas

Kiwi Callum Hedge has been the man to beat in the Formula Regional Americas series. Hedge entered the day with seven consecutive victories in FR Americas, with the opportunity to tie the current record of eight-straight wins. However, US driver Oliver Westling put a stop to Hedge’s run and would claim his first FR win.

Callum Hedge led the field off the starting block with his teammate Ryan Shehan, but Westling got the perfect start and, with Hedge in the middle and Shehan on the outside, Westling had momentum on his side, allowing him to pull to the inside and claim the lead and hold off Hedge for the remainder of the race.

Hedge came back in race two. Cooper Becklin had secured the pole for the race with the fastest lap in yesterday’s Race 1. When the lights went out, Ryan Shehan got a solid jump, pulling side-by-side with Becklin before taking the preferred racing line to enter Turn 1. Meanwhile, Hedge had started the race from the fourth position, but he timed his jump perfectly to overtake both third-place starter Oliver Westling as well as Becklin.

From there, Hedge set his sights on teammate Shehan, but Shehan was able to make the block as they entered Turn 1. Hedge knew he needed to be both quick and tricky to get around Shehan, so he began looking for unexpected places to attempt the pass. As they entered Turn 3, Hedge found just that, diving to the inside of Shehan and overtaking the top spot.

The strong results add to an outstanding season, and Hedge extends his championship lead.


Shane van Gisbergen finds pace at Sydney, but eyes are on the States.

After a frustrating season, Shane van Gisbergen got behind the wheel of Red Bull’s enduro wildcard car for the Sydney Supernights round. He quickly found the performance he was seeking.

Despite a terrible qualifying pace, SVG worked his way through the pack with ease, moving up an unbelievable 16 spots to third in Saturday’s night race. However, he made light contact with Erebus driver Will Brown during a battle for that position on the final lap. Erebus team manager, Barry Ryan, exploded on the television broadcast with an expletive-laden rant and protested the manoeuvre. SVG would lose the P3 spot to Brown, and Ryan was fined $5000 for losing his cool.

On Sunday’s race, van Gisbergen looked more comfortable and claimed pole as well as the race win ahead of fellow Kiwi Andre Heimgartner.

The big news of the weekend was van Gisbergen confirming he is in talks to move away from Supercars to NASCAR next year. While a deal has yet to be inked, it’s looking almost certain the series will lose the talented champion.