Motorsport Preview: Big weekend of racing over the long weekend

New Zealand

Brock Gilchrist is back on home soil this weekend for the first round of the North Island Endurance Series (NIERDC) this Friday and Saturday at Taupo Motorsport Park. Brock is partnering with Glenn Cotterill in the #912 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car for the 3-hour endurance series. Getting extra time in the seat between his Porsche Carrera Cup Asia campaign. The next two rounds of NIERDC are at Hampton Downs June 13-14 & 20-21.

Australia

Jumping over the ditch to Australia as our drivers take to Queensland Raceway for the SpeedSeries. Brendon Leitch is racing in the GT World Challenge Australia pro-am category. Driving alongside Tim Miles, will be behind the wheel of the #07 Dayle ITM Team MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. The pair have had some solid results so far in the season and looks to continue to build this round.

Also on track is Willie Exton in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series. Willie had a strong first round at Phillip Island but struggled a bit in qualifying at Sydney, which left him amid the middle of the pack chaos. He is currently sitting in 5th position in the standings, only 65 points off the leader. It’s a tight battle.

North America

Shane van Gisbergen wants to keep the momentum of his P14 result at Charlotte Motor Speedway into his race weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. This oval race is the final NASCAR Cup Series race before the 32-driver field is set for the inaugural NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Upon the conclusion of this Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, the 32-driver grid will be cemented, and with it, the pool vying for the $1 million prize. As such, a handful of drivers will look at this weekend as one final opportunity to show enough speed and savvy strategy to clinch a coveted berth – SVG is currently sitting in 33rd spot.

IndyCar, Indy NXT and IMSA WeatherTech Championship all head to Detroit to race on the Detroit Street Circuit. After the famous Indy 500 racing on the oval circuit, it will be good to get back onto a street circuit for Scott Dixon, ready to fight back on the leaderboard after a brake issue caused him to finish 20th in last weekend's race.

Our Indy NXT drivers, Callum Hedge and Liam Sceats, have 2 points separating them on the leaderboard, with Sceats in 7th place on 90 points and Hedge in 8th on 88 points. The Kiwis are both eager to move up in the rankings while racing in Detroit.

Earl Bamber joins teammate Jack Aitken in the Cadillac Wheelen #31 entry in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship on the Detroit Street Circuit. Bamber is coming from his recent race at the 12 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

Europe

Liam Lawson scored his first points in the 2025 Formula 1 season and recorded his best result of his F1 career at the Monaco Grand Prix. “I’m very, very happy for everyone. It was a good race, very straightforward from our side. I’m very happy. It’s not often you have a plan and you execute it perfectly. We were able to do.” Lawson said after the race. Keeping the momentum up, the series heads to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Asia

Mitch Evans is hoping for more luck in Shanghai this weekend after striking out in Tokyo, where weather disruptions occurred. Then he had an accident during qualifying for the Round 9 race, which meant the team was unable to make the necessary repairs within a limited time. Mitch was unable to start the race.

Follow us on social media for the racing schedule and updates - @GiltrapGroupMotorsport

New Zealand

North Island Endurance Series

Brock Gilchrist - #912 – IMS

Australia

GT World Challenge Australia

Brendon Leitch - #07 – Dayle ITM / Team MPC

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge

Willie Exton - #42 – TRS / TekworkX Motorsport

North America

NASCAR Cup Series

Shane van Gisbergen – #88 – Trackhouse Racing

IndyCar

Scott Dixon - #09 – Chip Ganassi Racing

Indy NXT

Callum Hedge - #17 – Abel Motorsports

Liam Sceats - #30 – HMD Motorsports

IMSA WeatherTech championship

Earl Bamber – #31 – Cadillac Whelen Motorsports

Europe

Formula 1

Liam Lawson – #30 – Racing Bulls

Asia

Formula E

Mitch Evans - #09 – Jaguar Racing