Motorsport Recap: Kiwis flying in North America

May 20, 2025

SVG claimed Pole for All-Star Open, Ryan Yardley on the podium & Scott Dixon soaring at Indy.

North America

Shane van Gisbergen claimed pole during the qualifying for the All-Star open race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Starting the All-Star open race, leading the pack on the oval for the first time, was great momentum in progress. The team felt the tyres were going to wear off, so they took the strategy of changing all four tyres, which ultimately meant SVG finished in 13th place. Only the top two finishers and fan voted driver moved onto the All-Star race. Next up is Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Monday 26^th May, 10am NZST)

Ryan Yardley was on the podium at Porsche Endurance Challenge North America at Circuit of the Americas, coming in second place in class / third place overall with co-driver Damir Hot. Damir Hot had a significant lead over the field at the start of the race, but with the team pitting just before a safety car made it difficult to climb their way back into the lead. Yardley is back on track next for Carrera Cup North America at the Canadian Grand Prix (13-15 June)

Scott Dixon flew through Fast Friday of Indy 500 with the quickest speed average over four laps – 232.366 MPH. Moving into top 12 qualifying and then Fast 6, Scott Dixon will be starting P4 for the 109^th Running of the Indianapolis 500 (Monday 26^th May 4am – NZST)

Europe

Liam Lawson qualified in 15^th place at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix after the Q1 was cut short due to an incident less than 3 minutes into the session. From there it was a tough race to be able to make moves up the leaderboard, with safety cars and virtual safety cars. "It's disappointing. I was trying to make up some ground, and I had good potential, but when the VSC came out, it ended our race.” – said Liam after the race. Lawson crossed the finish line in 14^th place. Next up is the iconic Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.

Asia

Mitch Evans had a tough weekend in Tokyo, qualifying for the Round 8 being cancelled due to wet weather meant they took the practice 2 timings for the grid placement. Mitch started in P19, unfortunately having an accident during the race meant he had to retire early and DNF. Having an accident during the qualifying for the Round 9 race meant the team were unable to do make the repairs with the limited time, Mitch was unable to start the race. Next race rounds are in Shanghai (31 May – 01 June)