It’s another big weekend with no less than 10 Kiwis racing in top motorsport events around the world.
A large contingent of these are at Sebring where the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, IMSA and WEC feature in separate races. There’s also the 12 Hours of Sepang which sees Andre Heimgartner and Reid Harker in action and the RX8 Cup in Australia for Ash McConchie.
With so many categories taking to the track in the 12 Hours of Sebring we’ve broken it down to the classes which Kiwis are competing in for easier reading, however all will be on track at the same time.
The World Endurance Championship kicks off in Florida with the 1000 Miles of Sebring seeing Earl Bamber and Brendon Hartley take to the track.
Bamber will be competing for the Chip Ganassi Racing entered Cadillac Racing outfit as the popular American manufacturer debut in the premier class of the series. He’ll partner Alex Lynn and Richard Westbrook.
Hartley returns to the fold for Toyota Gazoo Racing and will share driving responsibilities with Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa, the same team he won the 2022 title with.
Both Kiwis have shown great pace in pre-season testing and yesterday’s practice sessions and are tipped to do well come race time.
The 12 Hours of Sebring sees IMSA roar back into action following last month’s 24 at Daytona. Scott Dixon and Tom Blomqvist will compete in the new premier GTP class both with the aim of replicating their Daytona successes.
Blomqvist shares his Meyer Shank Racing drive with Colin Braun and Helio Castroneves whilst Dixon will drive for Cadillac Racing with Renger van der Zande and Sebastien Bourdais.
Scott McLaughlin will return for yet another shot at endurance racing having impressed with Tower Motorsport in past. He joins an eight-strong LMP2 field for the outfit and will share his drive with John Farano and Kyffin Simpson.
Tower Motorsport impressed in the 24 at Daytona despite finishing off the pace, recovering from an early setback to come from 11 laps down to finish just two off the pace.
IMSA is renowned for their huge GTD fields and the 12 Hours of Sebring is no exception.
Jaxon Evans joins a joint Kelly Moss and Riley Motorsport entry to compete in a 20-strong field. He’ll partner Alan Metni and Kay van Berlo.
After a seven year hiatus the Sepang 12 Hours returns this weekend to bring endurance racing back to the shores of Malaysia.
Despite the name, this year’s race is actually just eight hours but has still attracted a strong contingent of top racers, including New Zealander’s Andre Heimgartner and Reid Harker.
Harker has achieved some great successes in South-East Asia over the past 12 months, most recently finishing on the podium twice in the Thai Super Series at the end of last year.
Harker will race for Earl Bamber Motorsport Racing in a Porsche 911 GT3 R with Adrian D’Silva and Nazim Azman, competing in the Pro-AM class.
For Heimgartner it’s a switch to GT racing following a massive weekend in Supercars that leaves him sitting fifth in the standings.
He’ll compete for AMAC Motorsport, also in the Pro-Am mix and driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R. Heimgartner will be sharing his drive with Andrew Macpherson and William Porter.
Yardley competes twice this morning on the undercard of the IMSA and WEC endurance races at Sebring. The Cantabrian qualified 15th for Race 1 which goes green at 2.15am.
The Porsche Carrera Cup North America field is another with a reputation for attracting a large entry list with Yardley one of 41 cars on the grid. Twenty-one of those, including Yardley, are competing in the Pro class.
Mazda Pro8 South Island Series driver Ash McConchie will compete in Round 2 of the RX8 Cup at Winton this weekend off the back of a Trans-Tasman partnership set up between the two series.
The same partnership is what saw RX8 Cup competitor Tom Shaw compete at Highlands last month and will see McConchie joined by Kris Mackie and Jarrod Parmenter race in next month’s Bathurst Six Hour.
Keep an eye out for the #82 Maisie Place Motorsport/ Ric Shaw Racing entry.
