Racing Return for Manson Aboard Porsche in GT New Zealand Championship

After an extended period out of the driver’s seat, Luke Manson will campaign a Porsche 991.2 Cup Car in the GT New Zealand Championship which gets underway in January at Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell.

“I have a little racing experience, did a season in GT1 fourteen odd years ago in 2008. I ran the Porsche for the first time at the Taupo, Hampton Downs and Ruapuna in the one-hour endurance series this year and I must say I’m hooked and can’t wait to enjoy the coming season and getting some more driving under my belt,” says Manson.

“I have never been to Highlands before so I’m looking forward to racing there and learning the track. Manfeild, I raced at back in 2008 and really enjoyed that track and can’t wait to go back.”

Running his Porsche out of the International Motorsport outfit, Manson says that the focus for his season will be to race well and get up to speed while enjoying some close racing.

“The goal for the season is to learn the car, the tyre and the tracks and get some enjoyable racing under my belt. I’m looking forward to driving against the same machinery in some of the shorter format races too.”

To ensure parity in each of the different classes of racing, there will be a Balance of Performance criteria added to each of the races. The BOP will be implemented during the compulsory pit stop and the length of pit stop will be determined using qualifying times and lap times from previous races as well as previous race results.

The 2023 GT New Zealand Championship will consist of a four-round series over three months commencing January 13-15 at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell. This will be followed by the second round with the New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs on February 3-5, before heading to Taupo on March 17-19. The final round will be at Manfeild on April 14-16.