Weekend Motorsport Wrap-up
A great weekend for Kiwis in motorsport that included championship wins at home and podiums abroad. Giltrap Motorsport’s Brock Gilchrist wins GTNZ championship Giltrap Motorsport Junior Scholarship recipient Brock Gilchrist claimed the GT New Zealand GT4-class championship over the weekend at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
This round proved to be challenging for the 20-year-old due to compulsory extended pit-stops for the Giltrap team. It would be the only event of the season in which Brock didn’t step foot on the podium.
This wouldn’t prove to be an issue though as Brock’s dominant performances early in the season had left him with a points lead that couldn’t be overcome by even his closest competitors, and when the chequered flag fell on the third race of the weekend, Brock became champion.
Brock was the inaugural recipient of the Giltrap Motorsport Junior Scholarship, which put him in the seat of McLaren 570 GT4 for the 2023/2024 GT New Zealand Championship, and he proved worthy of it every step of the way.
Mitch Evans back in the Formula E podium
After a tricky opening race of the season in Diriyah, Mitch Evans found himself back on the podium at the Sao Paulo E-Prix with some valuable championship points.
After qualifying in P4, Evans managed to climb into the lead. A first win of 2024 was all but guaranteed until his Jaguar lost power due to it’s battery derating, causing Mitch to lose the lead to Sam Bird but able to maintain P2.
Nick Cassidy had a tough weekend with a DNF in the race, but he still leads the championship after his stellar start to the season.
Kiwis shine at Sebring
The 12 Hours of Sebring is infamous as a race that pushes drivers and their cars to the limit on its bumpy and unforgiving surface, but it proved to be a good outing for the Kiwis involved.
Scott Dixon led the way for the Kiwi contingent with a P2 overall for his Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series R. Brendon Hartley’s Acura also made it through the Sebring Gauntlet to secure P5 overall.
Hunter McElrea was finally able to show the world what he can do in endurance racing, pulling off some solid stints and incredible moves on the way to a P2 in the LMP2 class for the TDS Racing team.