Motorsport Weekend Wrap-up
Apr 15, 2024
There were podiums galore this weekend as our drivers fought for the top spots across the world.
Brock Gilchrist flew into his debut weekend in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia at Phillip Island with zero experience in the car, and having never driven the infamously fast track.
Clearly this didn’t faze the 20-year-old Kiwi as he was rapidly up to pace, qualifying P5 in his first time pushing the car to its limits among an incredibly competitive field.
Gilchrist would back up this early pace with consistent performances in the weekend’s three races, placing top-5 in each outing, even taking a podium in the third race with a P3 finish.
He leaves the weekend placing second-overall for the round and tied-first in the championship.
NASCAR Xfinity
Shane van Gisbergen’s P18 finish at Texas Motor Speedway might look lackluster on paper, but his performance on-track was anything but.
Still learning how to get his Chevrolet into the qualifying sweet-spot, SVG could only get P33 on the grid.
Over the course of a dramatic race, SVG manage to climb no less than 15 positions to cross the line in P18. The closeness of the field in Xfinity exemplified by the fact the top two cars finished just 0.002s apart.
Next weekend will be a return to Super Speedway as the NASCAR circus goes to the reknown Talladega Super Speedway, where SVG will be pulling double duties as he takes part in both the Xfinity and Cup races.
Formula E
The Misano double-header was yet another mixed weekend for the Jaguar TCS racing pair of Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy.
There was pace in the Jaguar, with Mitch Evans managing to secure P5 in race one and valuable championship points. Nick Cassidy was running as high as P2 when a collision damaged the nose of his car, leading to an eventual DNF.
Race 2 would see redemption for Cassidy however, as the Kiwi stormed to yet another podium, climbing two positions on the final lap to cross the line in P3. Evans would suffer technical issues leading to a DNF.
New Zealand Rally Championship
Ben Hunt hustled his Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2 to a podium finish in the opening round of the New Zealand Rally Championship at the Rally of Otago.
Hunt showed blistering pace at times, edging past his competitors to take on Sunday times, and setting a incredibly strong time on the Kuri Bush power stage.
A third-overall is a strong way to start the season, with the next event being the South Canterbury Rally in May.