Round wins for Armstrong and Gilchrist in GT New Zealand Championship at Ruapuna

Round three of the Summerset GT New Zealand Championship at Ruapuna this weekend, saw Rick Armstrong take the round win in the Open Class, with Brock Gilchrist taking round honours in the GT4 Class.

Rounding out the Open Class podium for the weekend was Steve Brooks in second, with Paul Southam in third both in Porsche 992’s.

In GT4, the podium places were filled with Steve Scoles second in a Ginetta, and Tony Quinn/Kynan Yu third in a Porsche.

On the start, pole sitter Rick Armstrong held the lead, with the AMG GT2 of Joel Giddy gaining some spots through turn one and slotting into second.

A tight battle behind formed with Paul Southam, Steve Brooks, Regan Scoullar, Sam Filmore, Paul Pedersen and Luke Manson all dicing for the minor places.

Back in GT4, Brock Gilchrist had built a good lead from the other GT4 runners.

Meanwhile, at the front Armstrong and Giddy began trading fastest lap times.

There was drama for Luke Manson, with a spin and re-join at turn four, sending him down the order.

With the pitstop window open at the 10-minute mark, the Porsche of Raana Horan was one of the first to pit, along with Manson, and the first of the GT4’s, the two Ginettas of Scoles and Sargeant and the BMW of Garth Piesse.

In Open Class, Armstrong, Giddy and Filmore all dived in to make their stops.

While out in the lead of the race, there was a wild spin for Horan, which was enough to put him out of the lead of the race, and dropping him down to fourth in the running order.

With the pitstops complete, Paul Pedersen in the AMG GT2 found himself in the lead.

With all of the GT4 stops complete, Allan Sargeant found himself in the lead of GT4.

With green flag running to the end of the race, the chequered flag dropped. Open Class Podium for race two saw Paul Pedersen – Mercedes AMG GT2 first, Steve Brooks – Porsche 992 in second, and Paul Southam – Porsche 992 third.

The GT4 podium saw Allan Sargeant – Ginetta G55 GT4 first, Steve Scoles – Ginetta G56 GT4 second, with Brock Gilchrist – McLaren 570S GT4 third.

Race three of the weekend saw Rick Armstrong starting on pole from local Christchurch racer Steve Brooks. Back in GT4, Gilchrist held the number one starting spot from Steve Scoles.

Off the start, the AMG GT2 of Joel Giddy jumped into the lead, with Armstrong holding second, and Pedersen slotting into third.

Steve Scoles got to the front of the GT4 field passing the McLaren of Brock Gilchrist and held the lead for the first two laps.

Back at the front, Pedersen climbed a position into second, passing Rick Armstrong on lap two.

From the there, the field settled into a rhythm.

The pitstop cycles went through without a hitch, with all of the front runners making their stops within a few laps of each other. The risk of safety car period a factor in a shorter format race.

With all of the pitstops complete, Manson found himself in the lead with Sargeant leading GT4. Both drivers unchallenged for the remainder of the race, and going on to claim their respective class wins.

The race three win in the Open Class went to Luke Manson, with Paul Pedersen second, and Sam Filmore in third.

In GT4 it was won by Allan Sargeant, Steve Scoles second, with Brock Gilchrist third.

The Summerset GT New Zealand Championship now heads to Highlands Motorsport Park at Cromwell next weekend for round four.