Motorsport Recap: SVG victory in Mexico & Yardley wins in Montreal
North America
Shane van Gisbergen showed his is master of the street circuits with the inaugural NASCAR Mexico Cup Series victory. SVG placed his #88 Trackhouse on pole during qualifying at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. Not only did Shane go on to dominate the race he took the win by 16.567 seconds – the largest NASCAR Cup Series margin of victory in the next gen car. The momentous win secures a his position in the NASCAR Cup Playoffs.
It wasn’t a smooth ride to get the win this week with plane issues getting to Mexico and also being sick leading up to the race. “What a week. I’ve really enjoyed myself. I felt pretty rubbish today. Our car was amazing. That list stint, man, what a pleasure just ripping lap after lap. Watching them get smaller in the mirror. Unreal. I’ve been privileged to have some great (cars) in my time, but when I go slow, I just lose concentration, so I was trying to stay in a rhythm and a routine” The series heads to Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania this week for the “Tricky Triangle” raceway.
Ryan Yardley took out pole position in qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix for Porsche Carrera Cup North America. The Texas based Kiwi fought off the pack in the first race to claim the victory. The second race was just as hard, with Ryan Yardley having to defend his first-place position from Riley Dickinson but eventually was passed. Finishing in second place. “I knew it was going to be a tough fight. It always is with Riley. It was nice to lead from start to finish. It’s awesome to get a win here in Canada. My parents were here to see me race for the first since 2023, so that was special.” Carrera Cup North America is back on track this weekend at Watkins Glen.
New Zealand
Ryan Wood came back home to race in the North Island Endurance Series after his maiden Supercars Championship victory last weekend in Perth. Wood raced at Hampton Downs alongside his GT World Challenge Australia co-driver Steve Brooks. The team took part in the 3-hour endurance race on Saturday afternoon in the Audi R8 LMS Evo II GT3. Ryan Wood jumped into the car to finish off the race, which turned into a tight battle alongside Jonny Reid in the other Audi R8 down to the last lap. The Woods / Brooks partnership came in second place overall.
North America
Scott Dixon made moves during the Bommarito 500 from World Wide Technology Raceway finishing in P4 after starting the race in P11. Dixon being one of the lucky drivers to even finish the race that people are calling one of the wildest IndyCar races in recent history. Josef Newgarden car had a horrible incident causing the driver to flip and skid along the surface. While fellow kiwi Scott McLaughlin, who started second, retired the #3 on Lap 216 when he suffered a left rear suspension issue.
Callum Hedge qualified and finished in 7th place this weekend’s Indy NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway in Illinois. This being the first oval race for the weekend, creating harder opportunities to pass the field. Next up is the Grand Prix at Road America, last year Hedge finished P6.
Liam Lawson had a DNF at the Canadian Grand Prix. After qualifying at the back of the field, the young Kiwi was forced out with 14 laps remaining with technical issues with his Racing Bulls car. "We changed the engine last night and in general the car has been pretty quick this weekend but we weren't amazing in the long runs and in the race today as well, it was very, very tough"
Europe
Earl Bamber put the #38 JOTA Cadillac on the front row to start P2 for 24h Le Mans, the team locked out the front row with the #12 JOTA Cadillac getting pole position. Earl Bamber finished the 24-hour race in P8 alongside co-drivers Jenson Button and Sébastien Bourdais.
Brendon Hartley alongside Ryo Hirakawa and Sébastien Buemi in the #8 Toyota Gazoo started the race from P10, they crossed the finish line in P16. The next FIA WEC race will be the Rolex 6 Hours of São Paulo.
