It’s going to be a packed weekend for Kiwis competing in motorsport with local drivers taking part in races and rallies all over the world!
IndyCar returns to action in California, with Scott Dixon, Scott McLaughlin, and Marcus Armstrong competing. IMSA will also race at the same event, bringing out Tom Blomqvist, as will the Porsche Carrera Cup North America for Ryan Yardley.
In Europe, Hayden Paddon takes to the dirt in Northern Italy, while Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber head out for the World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Portimao.
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Three Kiwis will take to the track in this weekend’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach. All three are considered a shot at a good result off the back of some good performances to start the year.
Dixon has already scored one podium in the season opener in St. Petersburg, followed by a fifth place last time out at Texas Motor Speedway. He sits third in the standings. However, it’s still early days meaning there’s plenty to play for.
McLaughlin of Team Penske has also started the year well despite results not necessarily reflecting that. He finished 13th in Florida and led 38 laps before crashing out of contention. He also stormed forward in Texas for fifth place to sit eighth in the standings.
Armstrong has excellent company with IndyCar great Dixon as his teammate, and he hasn’t disappointed. Although he has only raced once, Armstrong still finished 11th after suffering a puncture early on. He’d looked set to finish deep in the top 10 and was unlucky to lose out. The young Kiwi isn’t competing on ovals this year, only street and road courses.
Hayden Paddon will have co-driver Jared Hudson alongside him as he takes part in this weekend’s Rally Regione Piemonte in Northern Italy.
The duo will pilot BRC Racing’s Hyundai i20 N Rally2, the same car they drove to success at last month’s Rally Serras de Fafe in Portugal.
The event, which runs through the picturesque Piedmont region, covers 101km over two days on a predominantly asphalt surface.
This year’s World Endurance Championship is one of the most highly anticipated since its inception 11 seasons ago. A massive 11 Hypercars are competing at the top level, with Kiwis Brendon Hartley and Earl Bamber in the mix.
Hartley finished second for Toyota Gazoo Racing with Ryo Hirakawa and Sebastien Buemi in the season-opening 1000 Miles of Sebring and is the defending champion of the series. Toyota is looking the part once again in this year’s championship, dominating in the US for a one-two finish.
Bamber finished fourth at Sebring, sharing Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing entry with Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook. In Cadillac’s WEC Hypercar debut, the team were unlucky to be caught out by a late yellow which put them out of contention for a podium.
New Zealand-born Tom Blomqvist will partner Colin Braun for Meyer Shank Racing in this year’s IMSA Grand Prix of Long Beach, taking their Acura ARX-06 Hypercar to the streets of California.
The 100-minute race sees 28 cars entered, split across three classes. Eight GTP (Hypercars) are included in that number, with Blomqvist needing a big round following a 200-point penalty they received after their 24 at Daytona victory for manipulating tyre pressure data during the race.
To make matters worse, they were forced out of the 12 Hours of Sebring when their left rear detached late in the race. Despite these hiccups, the team evidently have pace, and Blomqvist heads into the round as one of the favourites to stand on the podium.
Hypercars on a street track are always a spectacle, and the friendly viewing time on Sunday morning makes this one well worth watching.
Ryan Yardley joins a stacked paddock at Long Beach, taking to the wheel of one of TOPP Racing’s Porsche in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
Yardley currently sits 15th in the standings following the first two races of the season at Sebring, where he finished 11th in Race 1 and 20th in Race 2. The young Kiwi showed great pace all weekend at that event and looked set for a solid top-10 finish in the final race before being taken out by another competitor.
The Kiwi believes he has the pace to mix it with the guys at the front but says qualifying is an area for improvement to allow him to do so. He’s been working hard over the past four weeks to further understand his car, with all to be revealed come qualifying on Saturday morning.
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