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Clash of the Classics - Motorsport Recap

The hills of Rotokawa were alive with the sound of carburetted race cars over the weekend for the SIXT Rent a Car Taupo Historic GP. Taupo Motorsport Park played host to a record crowd for the Formula Atlantic Historic GP, Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania, and the second round of the F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series.

After a close second-place finish in the first Formula Atlantic race of the weekend, the Historic GP Feature Race was won by Giltrap driver and CTFROC race-winner Kaleb Ngatoa. Piloting a stunning 1997 Swift DB4 Formula Atlantic car—a series that once saw legends like Danny Sullivan compete on New Zealand soil— with Ngatoa’s performance proving worthy of the heritage. Kiwi great Greg Murphy also took part in the weekend’s biggest race, crossing the line in fifth.

Hometown hero Zack Scoular led from lights to flag to secure a Formula Regional Oceania win on debut. He was joined on the podium by Supercars legend Will Brown, making a one-off appearance in the series and borrowing Red Bull F1 driver Liam Lawson’s helmet for some open-wheel magic after having his deemed not up to spec for the series.

History was made in the second race by Matias Zagazeta, who became the first Peruvian driver to win a race in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship. Later that day, British Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad claimed the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy with a dominant feature race victory.

There was also plenty of F5000 action, with four races over the weekend showcasing stunning historic race cars like the McLaren M10B and Lola T332, driven in anger around Taupo Motorsport Park.

Honourable mentions go to the show runs by the incredible six-wheeled Tyrrell Formula One car and the Yardley McLaren M23.

24 Hours of Dubai

It was a dominant weekend in Dubai for Kiwi GT wizard Brendon Leitch. His #710 Leipert Motorsport Huracan converted pole position into a convincing victory in the GTX Class. Earl Bamber’s #77 entry finished sixth in the GT3 Pro-Am class after completing 573 laps of the Dubai Autodrome in their stunning Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Mexico City E-Prix

The reigning Formula E Teams Champions endured a challenging Mexico E-Prix, with contact and technical infringements scuppering any chance of strong results for their Kiwi pairing.

Mitch Evans qualified impressively in fifth, while Nick Cassidy was relegated to the back of the grid due to a technical infringement on his car. The team’s woes were compounded during the race: Evans was forced to retire after being taken out behind the Safety Car, while Cassidy fought valiantly to climb up to 12th place. However, he couldn’t replicate the last-to-first heroics displayed by Evans in the previous round.