As the motor racing calendar starts to wind down, it’s a rare weekend where there’s a break in the action for Giltrap Group Motorsport drivers around the world. We take this quick opportunity to recap the best of 2023 so far and look to the Championships that hang in the balance for Shane van Gisbergen, Marco Giltrap, Chris van der Drift and Callum Hedge.
For many of the Giltrap Group-supported drivers it’s already been a fruitful 2023, but it’s still very much full throttle for those looking to win championships like SVG, or indeed for drivers in multiple series like Marco Giltrap and Callum Hedge, to win more than one championship this year.
Mitch Evans – Jaguar TCS Racing
Despite his experience and numerous race wins in the Formula E category, a Championship had been frustratingly close, but still eluded Evans. But with the new generation cars and a rejuvenated Jaguar TCS Racing team, 2023 was looking so good for the Aucklander to win the series.
Points were hard to come by for Evans in the early events of the season and his first win didn’t come until round 6 at Sao Paulo, but from there Evans was relentless in his hunt for the championship adding wins in Berlin, Rome and London. But two very disappointing incidents where his teammate Sam Bird, struck Evans and ruined his race ultimately made it a stretch for him to catch fellow Kiwi, Nick Cassidy and eventual Champ, Jake Dennis. Evans finished third in the championship just 2 points off Cassidy but showed masterful race craft throughout the season. Childhood friends, Cassidy and Evans will both race for Jaguar TCS racing in 2024 and we expect they will be ones to watch next year as Jaguar ramps up their push for a maiden Formula E championship.
Callum Hedge – The world awaits
If you haven’t heard of Callum Hedge, remember that name. Not only is the 20-year-old Kiwi on the verge on winning multiple championships this year, but more importantly he is without question on the cusp of a very exciting motorsport career. The question really is where?
Hedge has been engaged in a dual racing program, competing in Carrera Cup Australia and Formula Regional Americas, with ongoing support from the Giltrap Group and the Tony Quinn Foundation. Hedge has had blistering pace all season and leads both categories in the points.
Remarkably, he’s won 11 out of 15 races in the Formula Regional Americas series and would’ve won the championship with a spare round had it not been for a mechanical failure in his last outing. It’s a big deal, as winning that title would make him eligible for the HPD Scholarship, a lucrative $600,000 bonus for a Super Formula seat in Japan.
He is also set to make his debut on the Indy NXT circuit as he joins Cape Motorsports for a test session on the Indianapolis Road course, while the Super Formula category is a recognised pathway to Formula 1, the Indy NXT test also hints at the possibility of Hedge considering a future in the United States.
After the Indy NXT test, Hedge will return to Australia for the Carrera Cup finale, followed by the FR Americas season climax in Austin. His incredibly busy schedule also includes a European stint for the Porsche Junior Shootout, with the prize being a seat in Porsche Supercup for the 2024 season.
Chris van der Drift – Big in Japan.
If you own a race team in Asia and are looking for a world class performer to consistently deliver results, Chris van der Drift has become the go-to solution. With multiple championship titles in Asia, van der Drift is the most successful Carrera Cup Asia driver in history and has made a living of driving all across the continent since 2015.
2023 has seen the Kiwi partner with Marco Giltrap and claim the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia championship, (van der Drift was also the defending Champion) and is currently third in the standings for Carrera Cup Asia. He also stood in for Callum Hedge at the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia race at Bathurst while Hedge was in the USA.
Chris has seen the Asian motorsport scene grow and believes it presents lots of great opportunities for Kiwis.
“The whole of Asia is much larger than you realise, and many countries have their own thriving Motorsport. Japan is definitely the biggest in terms of series etc”
And even the "smaller" Motorsport countries like Thailand for example are now becoming almost bigger than NZ”
The experienced driver considered working with Marco Giltrap a highlight for him this year.
“It was great to be alongside Marco this year - to pass on what I could to him that I've learnt over the years - and for him to grab his first pole position the last round was awesome. We have won a lot of races this year thanks to his performance and I'm super excited to head to the world finals shortly and see how we stack up against the rest of the world.”
Currently for 2024 Chris has nothing lined up but he says opportunities will start to emerge in the new year and he is hoping to again be back in Asia or more in Australia.
Kiwis in Indycars
If you ever needed convincing of New Zealand’s contribution to motorsport on a global level, you need only look at the current Indycar and Indycar NXT field. Hunter McElrea was consistent all season to claim second in the NXT feeder category championship and is deserving of a seat in the main Indycar series. Now looking beyond Indy NXT, he is currently looking to get a test in the new 2024 Hybrid Indycars but is also keen to bolster his experience with IMSA endurance racing.
“I want to do Daytona and that sort of stuff. The endurance races are something I'm looking at and sorting out now and talking to some teams about. I'll probably drive one of those soon. It'd be an LMP2 car. An LMP2 car would almost align very close to the Indy NXT car and the speed. I'm expecting it to be a pretty similar; different in its own way, but very similar speed car to drive.”
And if McElrea does make it to the main Indycar series, he can thank three prominent Kiwis who have made their mark on the category in 2023.
While he doesn't race with the Giltrap Group logo, Rookie of the Year, Marcus Armstrong has been too impressive in his first season not to acknowledge, racing just the road courses he will undoubtedly learn a lot more about the sport from his Chip Ganassi teammate and Indycar legend, Scott Dixon.
Dixon made his run late, but claimed two victories in a row toward the end of the season in circumstances that simply reaffirmed him as one of the greats and certainly the best Indycar driver of the modern era. He narrowly missed out on the championship but a seventh Indycar title is far from a pipe dream for the veteran. Dixon will have to fend off yet another Kiwi though as Scott McLaughlin continues to get better and better in Indycars, taking third in the championship this year. Scotty Mac knows what he needs to do to execute now and many more race wins, and maybe an Indy500 are in his future.
Marco Giltrap – By the book.
It’ll come as no surprise Marco Giltrap shares the family’s passion and ability for motorsport, having been raised around cars and racing his whole life. Marco’s foray into the sport has been textbook and each year has been a measured learning curve, with a clear progression pathway from karting and Toyota 86 to GT racing as his race craft develops year on year.
And developed it has, in 2023 Giltrap has already won the Lamborghini SuperTrofeo Asia championship driving with Chris van der Drift but is also on the cusp of claiming the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series where he leads with a healthy margin of 171 points.
Giltrap has honed his skills through a systematic and successful apprenticeship in recent years and has a very bright future. He and Chris contest the Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Challenge at Vallelunga, Italy in coming weeks and 2024 will no doubt present new challenges and milestones in the 19 year old's driving career. Marco has indicated he enjoys the sportscar and endurance formats so expect more of that in the future.
SVG –Anything. Anytime. Anywhere.
Be honest. Could you have predicted the fairy-tale result to Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR Debut earlier this year? Could anyone?
Without question the most thrilling race of 2023, SVG devastated the field of drivers on the streets of Chicago. If you have yet to watch that race in its entirety, track it down and do so.
Shane’s historic win on debut immediately put his talent on the map with nearly 5 million television viewers in the States alone and the Chicago Street Race was the most watched race of the entire NASCAR season. He followed that up with strong cameos in the Truck Series and another NASCAR outing.
But let’s not forget he remains second in the Australian Supercar Series, despite many niggling technical issues with the Gen 3 Camaro. Oh yeah, he also claimed his third Bathurst 1000 title and while still a journeyman rally driver, won multiple stages against European and New Zealand Rally Champion, Hayden Paddon in the New Zealand Rally Championship.
"I’m proud of what I have achieved in Australia, but I’m excited by this new chapter in my career and the opportunities that it brings. Said Van Gisbergen of his impending move to the USA.
"It is time for a new challenge and this adventure into NASCAR will be the biggest challenge of my career and one I’m really looking forward to."
Shane is the ultimate racer, and I don’t think we could ever grow tired of watching his aggression and craft on the track. Simply one the best in the world. We can’t wait to watch his trajectory when he leaves for the USA next year.
Liam Lawson – No pressure
As great and as gripping as Shane van Gisbergen’s NASCAR debut was, it’s been Liam Lawson’s impromptu Formula 1 drives that have galvanized the country on a scale rare for motorsport. And rightly so, in an era where Formula 1 has never been so popular the world over, Lawson’s pressure cooker debut at the Dutch GP in insane conditions at Zandvoort was something quite remarkable. His follow-up points and performances as a stand-in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo have more than validated Lawson as a future F1 star.
2024 will be an interesting season, if Red Bull and AlphaTauri are as unforgiving of poor performance as they have been in the past, there are three drivers on the grid who should be nervous. Lawson is an ace in the sleeve of the Red Bull / Alpha Tauri camp and we would love to see them use it sooner rather than later.
First though, we almost forgot Lawson still has two races left in his Super Formula campaign in Japan. Lawson sits just 8 points of the Championship leader. The final rounds in Super Formula will be at Suzuka 28/29 October.
