Kiwi Driver Wins $1,000,000 Scholarship - Motorsport Weekend Recap

Callum Hedge has claimed the 2023 Formula Regional Americas Championship by winning the opening race at Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Brendan Hartley won his fourth drivers title in the World Endurance Championship.Meanwhile back in NZ, Shane van Gisbergen has completed a clean-sweep in the final Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series at Highlands Motorsport Park but couldn't match the pace of Father and Son combo Paul and Ant Pedersen, along with Marco Giltrap who have secured victory in the Highlands 6 Hour.

Callum Hedge has the edge in Austin

Having qualified on pole, Hedge raced to a 7.5-second lead out of the gate in the opening race of the 2023 Formula Regional Americas Championship at Circuit of the Americas in Texas, but lost his advantage when a Safety Car was called for debris on the track at Turn 20 with 18 minutes remaining.

Cole Kleck, who had been running second, got the jump on Hedge at the restart but ran too deep into Turn 1, allowing the Kiwi to retake the position that he held until the chequered flag. Cooper Becklin finished as runner-up, and Kleck rounded out the podium.

“I was driving around conserving the tyres,” Hedge said in his post-race interview. “We put the greens on to make sure we had the best chance to win and wrap it up in the first race. I was cruising around and conserving the tyres, and we got the full course yellow, which was a shame, and I had to do it all again.

“I’d like to thank the people that made it happen. Steve Horne and Mark Pilcher put this all together for me, and I’m really grateful for what they did for me at the start of this year.

“A big credit to them and the people who came on board and helped us: The Tony Quinn Foundation, Giltrap Group, and Tasman Motorsport Group.”

The series victory is Hedge’s 12th in the series this season, coming from 16 starts.

His title success sees him claim a $600,000 scholarship to use towards a 2024 Super Formula campaign.

Brendon Hartley wins his fourth driver's title in the World Endurance Championship

The Number 8 Toyota had a fantastic weekend, taking pole position in qualifying and then the race win in the 8 Hours of Bahrain - the last race in the World Endurance Championship season.

This result was enough to secure the Driver's Championship title for Brendon Hartley, Sebastian Buemi and Riyo Hirakawa; a fourth for the Manawatu born driver.

SVG goes three from three in Aussie Racing Cars battle at Highlands

Shane van Gisbergen completed a clean-sweep in the final Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series, but it was Joel Heinrich victorious in the overall title after the season finale at Highlands Motorsport Park.

After an early domination of the season, Heinrich secured the crown with seventh in the final race driving the Osborn’s Transport entry to add a second Aussie Racing Cars Super Series title.

Hartley has had an 

"Great day going 3 from 3 in the Aussie Racing Cars!" said van Gisbergen on his Facebook page following the final race. "Some cool battles."

Aussie Racing Cars Super Series champion Heinrich was thrilled to pick up another title.

“It was an awesome year, awesome round,” he commented. “Absolutely stoked with the year, it was smooth sailing at the start and brought it home in the end, so I can’t wait to go again next year."

Pederson duo and Giltrap win Highlands 6 Hour

Father and son pairing, Paul Pedersen, Ant Pedersen, along with Marco Giltrap secured a thrilling victory in the Highlands 10th Anniversary 6-Hour Enduro race with their #96 Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo.

The race was incredibly close, with just 5.54 seconds separating the top three teams at the finish line. Andrew Waite's #888 Audi R8 GT3 Evo II came in second, less than a second behind the winners. Jonny Reid and Sam Fillmore finished third in their #27 Audi R8 GT3 Evo II after a heated battle for the lead.

Shane van Gisbergen, who had led the race in the Brabham BT62, faced a post-race penalty and dropped off the pace. The Brabham had encountered issues in previous seasons but still finished fourth.

The Pedersen/Giltrap combo had to overcome early issues, including a rear wheel problem, but managed to take the lead during the race's fourth hour and held onto it. The race featured a dramatic late restart, with Pedersen fending off challenges from Waite to secure the victory.

Other notable finishers included Brendon Leitch, Christina Orr-West, and Tim Miles in fifth place with a Lamborghini Huracan, and the all-Am Mercedes AMG GT3 entry of Sergio Pires and Marcel Zalloua in sixth.

Ryan Wood's Porsche 992 Cup Car came home first n the Porsche class and seventh overall.

The GT4 Class was won by Tracktec Racing's Steve Scholes, Paul Blomqvist, and Rowan Shepherd in the Ginetta G56, while Highlands owner Tony Quinn's team finished second in the GT4 class.

There was only one TCR car in the race, an Audi RS3 LMS TCR, which completed 186 laps.

The only retirement in the race was the Mercedes AMG GT3 of Paul Lucchitti and Luke Youlden, which suffered an early mechanical failure.