Top talent and machinery will be competing this Saturday (3 September 2022) as the Three-Hour 2022 Carter’s Tyre Service South Island Endurance Series gets underway at the Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Christchurch. Both overall and Class winners will be difficult to predict from the 32-car field as no less than ten GT3s are expected to take to the grid with some very quick driver combinations ready to battle over the three-round series for both overall and Class titles.
Having the quickest car and driver combination may help whereas consistency, reliability and speed coupled with a team effort are more of a winning combination. Returning Three-Hour champions, Scott O’Donnell and Allan Dippie (Porsche 991 GT3R) never won any of the four 2021 rounds, rather they finished four times on the podium and took out both the overall and the Class 1 (GT3) titles.
Also returning are the father and son combination of Grant and Cole Askew (VW Golf Gti TCR) who finished second overall and first in the Class 4 (2001-3500cc), again a result of consistent performances.
Dwayne Carter/Matt Carter will finally be able to compete in their brand-new Brabham BT62 (main photo) after the Covid lockdown thwarted their attempt to bring the car into NZ on time for the 2021 series. Another car to make its South Island debut this season is the Nismo tuned VR38DETT twin turbo V6 engine powered Renault RS01 piloted by Shane Helms and Bathurst legend Greg Murphy.
Also missing the 2021 Series and debuting in 2022 will be the gorgeous McLaren 720S GT3 of Andrew Fawcett/Daniel Gaunt. Three other McLarens will also be on the grid including Glenn Smith (McLaren 650s GT3) who finished third overall in 2021 and this year will pair up with John DeVeth after giving their car some serious upgrades over the off season.
Previous overall champion Johnny Reid knows how to win and this season teams up with Sam Fillmore in the Audi R8 LMS Evo GT3. Rhys Gould moves up from competing in the 2021 One-Hour Series to team up with Gene Rollinson in one of two very quick Nismo R35 GTR GT3s. Lance Hughes and Chris van der Drift return in the second Nismo after winning the opening round last season then also becoming stuck in the Covid lockdown as well.
Winners of the recent 2022 North Island Endurance Series, Paul and Ant Pedersen, now take on the South Island Series in a Mercedes AMG GT3. The father and son pairing will be one of two AMG GT3s with locals Hayden Knighton and Kane Lawson returning to the series in a brand-new car.
The Porsche marque is again proving popular with seven entries. Previous winner, Martin Dippie, teams up with ex NZ Formula Ford champion James Penrose (Porsche 991 Cup) while another One-Hour champion, Marco Schelp joins Anthony Leighs in a Porsche 997 Cup S. Two Toyota 86 rivals, Marco Giltrap and Simon Evans, will co-drive a Porsche 718 GT4 Clubsport while Russell McKenzie has repaired his Porsche 991 Cup and joins forces with local Paul Kelly.
Class 3 (3501cc and over & including FIA GT4 spec cars) will see a mix of McLaren (David Cremer/Jason Leifting – McLaren 570S GT4), Porsche (Giltrap and Evans), Mazda (Ben Coffin/Cameron Jones – Mazda RX7 V8), Mustang (Grant Silvester/Dean Perkins – MRX Ford Mustang) and the new Toyota 86 2JZ Turbo of Scott and Craig McDermid in a fight for the title.
In Class 4 (2001-3500cc), Barry Moore has stepped up to an Audi R8 2.0T with James Paterson. Matt O’Donnell and Michael Lyons debut a brand-new Audi RS3 LMS TCR but both will be up against the very consistent Askew VW Gti TCR that won the Class and finished second overall in 2021.
Darryl and Terence Phillips (Honda Civic) return to defend their Class 5 (0-2000cc) title against four other entries including the return of the Tim Stanton/Leyton Tremain Peugeot 106 Clubsport.
Also, up for grabs is the ‘Series Rookie’ Award for the first rookie team (two drivers who have not previously competed in the Three-Hour South Island Series) home in the Three-Hour Series where the winner receives free entry into the following year’s competition. The new Michelin AM Cup for teams without an elite driver is likely to be competed for by Smith/DeVeth, Knighton/Lawson and O’Donnell/Dippie.
Testing takes place on Friday with a 15min qualifying session at 9:50am Saturday morning and the race set to go at 1:30pm.
Three-Hour Entry (Race#, Driver 1/Driver 2, Class, Car, Engine size)
27 Sam Fillmore/Johnny Reid, 1 Audi R8 LMS Evo GT3, 5200
19 Dwayne Carter Matt Carter 1 Brabham BT62, 5000
90 Glenn Smith/John DeVeth 1 McLaren 650s GT3, 6458
10 Andrew Fawcet/Daniel Gaunt 1 McLaren 720S GT3, 6791
33 Paul Pedersen/Anthony Pederson 1 Mercedes Benz AMG, GT3 6200
89 Hayden Knighton/Kane Lawson, 1 Mercedes Benz AMG GT3, 6200
5 Rhys Gould/Gene Rollinson 1 Nissan GTR Nismo GT3, 6460
84 Lance Hughes/Chris Ven Der Drift, 1 Nissan GTR Nismo GT3, 6480
51 Shane Helms/Greg Murphy 1 Renault RS01 GT3, 6460
81 Darryl Barrett/Hamish Frew 2 Ford Falcon FG V8ST, 7000
31 Paul Rickerby/Graeme Rhodes 2 Marc II Mustang, 5400
61 David Rogers/Brian Green 2 McLaren 570 GT4, 3800
64 Marco Giltrap Simon Evans 2 Porsche 718 GT4 Clubsport, 3800
68 Russell McKenzie/Paul Kelly 2 Porsche 991 Cup, 4000
991 Martin Dippie/James Penrose 2 Porsche 991 Cup, 4000
912 Scott O’Donnell/Allan Dippie 2 Porsche 991 GT3R, 3800
909 Francois Beziac/Tom Alexander 2 Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup MR, 3996
910 Heremana Malmezac/Jono Lester 2 Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup MR, 3996
88 Steve Brooks/Bill Riding, 2 Porsche 992 Cup, 4000
9 Marco Schelp/Anthony Leighs 2 Porsche 997 Cup S, 3600
52 Ben Coffin/ Cameron Jones 3 Mazda RX7 V8, 6000
620 David Cremer/Jason Liefting 3 McLaren 570S GT4, 3799
666 Grant Silvester/Dean Perkins 3 MRX Ford Mustang, 5800
86 Scott McDermid/Craig McDermid 3 Toyota GT86R, 5100
24 Barry Moore/James Paterson 4 Audi R8 LMS 2.0T, 3372
111 Matt O’Donnell/Michael Lyons 4 Audi RS3 LMS TCR, 3372
65 Grant Askew/Cole Askew 4 VW Golf Gti TCR, 3372
96 Terence Phillips/Darryl Phillips 5 Honda Civic 2.0, 1998
417 Ben Silcock/Andre Simon 5 Honda CRX 2.0, 2000
94 Tim Stanton/Leyton Tremain 5 Peugeot 106 Rallye, 1400
171 Grant Moore/Matt Moore 5 Toyota Altezza 2.0, 1998
76 Andrew Kitching/Will Kitching 5 Toyota GT86 2.0, 2000
2022 Carter’s Tyre Service South Island Endurance Series Calendar
Round 1 – Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, Christchurch – 3 September 2022
Round 2 – Teretonga Park, Invercargill – 24 September 2022
Round 3 – Timaru International Raceway, Timaru – 15 October 2022 (Final)
Comments