Shane van Gisbergen’s appearance in the opening round of the Three-Hour Carter’s Tyre Service South Island Endurance Series will see a step up in the competition at the Euromarque Motorsport Park in Christchurch on Saturday. The Repco Supercars champion teams up with Dwayne Carter in the very nimble (and gorgeous) Brabham BT62 which proved to be very quick in last season’s series.
However, the return of 2022 overall champions, Jonny Reid/Sam Fillmore (Audi R8 GT3) will certainly make a race of it, as the pairing are a proven and formidable team also winning the top 2022 Class 1 (GT3).
Also, in the mix will be Greg Murphy/Shane Helms in the beautiful Renault R.S.01 while Steve Brooks/Bill Riding make the step up from a Class 2 Porsche, also in an Audi R8 GT3.
Two Mercedes Benz AMG GT3 from the 2022 season also make their return as will the rivalry between Hayden Knight/Kane Lawson and Paul Pederson/Ant Pedersen. While the Pedersen’s were a nudge quicker in 2022, Knighton and Lawson came home ahead securing third overall.
Should any of the front runners falter then don’t be surprised to see Glen Smith/John De Veth (McLaren GT3) or Fancois Beziac/Heremana Malmezac/Jono Lester (Porsche GT3R 991.2) make the most of an opportunity.
In Class 2 (GT3 Type) the Scott O’Donnell/Martin Dippie (Porsche GT3 Cup 992) have always been consistent and will be up against Martin Dippie/John Penny (Porsche GT3 Cup 992) and the return of Paul Rickerby/Graeme Rhodes (Marc II Mustang) and Hamish Frew/Darryl Barrett (Ford Falcon). Hugh Gardiner, a previous One-Hour champion will join forces with Matt Spratt in a Porsche GT3 Cup 991.2.
Christina Orr and Bree Morris (Mercedes Benz AMG GT4) bring to the game their team experience in the North Island series. Competing in Class 3 (>3501cc), they will be up against David Rogers/Brian Green in a McLaren GT4.
Grant Moore/Matthew Moore (Toyota Altezza) are the only entry in Class 4 (2001-3500cc) while Thomas Mallard and Peter Vodanovich are the only car in Class 5 (0-2000cc).
Qualifying gets underway at 9:15am Saturday morning with the Three=-Hour race starting at 1pm.
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