New Zealand

Double championship titles for Team Giltrap Group Motorsport at the GT NZ Championship finale at Hampton Downs on the weekend. William Exton clinched the GT4 title in the McLaren Artura GT4, and Marco Giltrap claimed the Junior Pro title in both the GT NZ Championship and Porsche Endurance Trophy New Zealand.

William Exton needed to place first in the GT4 category in the Saturday 30-minute race to claim the title. Exton finished a relatively drama-free race ahead of Kaleb Ngatoa and James Sax, resulting in clinching the GT4 title.

Marco Giltrap had already won the Junior Pro titles before coming into the weekend, but that didn’t stop him from having the drive of the day on Saturday. Coming from last place after a restart following a crash between James Parker and Sam Fillmore, he won the race.

Sunday’s 30-minute race had another chaotic start with lots of highs and lows for the team. The 1-hour endurance saw Marco take the overall race win, while William had to retire the car within the last 5 minutes of racing, unfortunately.

Overall, the GT New Zealand Championship season was fantastic for the team. Marco Giltrap will now race in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia for Team Porsche New Zealand x Earl Bamber Motorsport, and William Exton will race in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia with TekworkX Motorsport.

Asia

Brock Gilchrist had a successful first round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, with podium finishes in both races. The Shanghai International Circuit provided drama-filled racing. The race started with him losing his front splitter. Along with multiple significant accidents, Gilchrist was lucky to narrowly avoid the collisions and cross the finish line unscathed, finishing second. The Team Porsche New Zealand x Earl Bamber Motorsport team then produced another excellent car for the Sunday race, which saw Brock finish in third, coming in second overall for the weekend. The next race is in Japan – April 18-20.

Meanwhile, in Formula 1, Liam Lawson finished 12th place in the Chinese Grand Prix after multiple cars were disqualified post-race. The next race is at Suzuka, Japan, on April 4-6.

North America

Scott Dixon finished P10 at the Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix in California. After a tough qualifying, Dixon had to abort lap 1 because of traffic and lost some speed on the second lap. IndyCar now has a break until April 12-13, when the series heads to the Streets of Long Beach, California.

In South Florida, Shane van Gisbergen took to the Homestead-Miami Speedway for the 267-lap race on the 1.5-mile oval, known for its progressive banking and tire-wearing surface that challenged even the best drivers in the field. SVG struggled in qualifying, placing 35th. It was a tough race, resulting in a P32 finish. The NASCAR Cup Series resumes next weekend at Martinsville Speedway with Sunday’s Cook Out 400.