Summerset GT New Zealand Championship Battle Resumes at Hampton Downs

The battle for the 2024/25 Summerset GT New Zealand Championship resumes this weekend when round two gets underway at Hampton Downs.

Following round one at Taupo in November, defending Champion Rick Armstrong took the Championship lead in Open Class in his Porsche 992 while rookie driver, William Exton assumed the lead in the GT4 class after a dominant display in his McLaren Artura.

Three race wins for Marco Giltrap saw him taken the lead in the new Junior Pro class.

After one round, Armstrong leads Open from Sam Fillmore (Porsche 992) second with Joel Giddy (Mercedes AMG GT2) third.

In GT4, William Exton (McLaren Artura GT4) leads from Allan Sargeant (Toyota Supra GT4 EVO) with James Sax (Mercedes AMG GT4) third.

In Junior Pro, Marco Giltrap (Porsche 992) leads from Hunter Robb (Porsche 991.2).

For round two of the championship this weekend, the field is bolstered by a number of new cars and drivers.

In the GT4 class, the field is headlined by the arrival of a second Toyota GT4 machine. The Toyota Supra GT4 EVO of Allan Sargeant which debuted at round one will be joined by young star Kaleb Ngatoa, while another Supra makes its debut in the hands of Mark Mallard and Ayrton Hodson.

Ngatoa is a proven race winner is picked to go well in the new Toyota Supra.

The GT4 field will be further bolstered by the arrival of young Australian racer Zoe Woods in her Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport who comes with previous experience in the Australian GT4 Championship last year.

“I’ve never been to New Zealand before, let alone raced there, it will be quite a cool experience,” says Woods.

“I should feel reasonably comfortable though, as we’re sending my car over for it and I’ll have my team around me and racing against all different cars will be fun.”

Another Porsche GT4 RS Clubsport joins the fields with Tony Quinn behind the wheel.

The GT4 class is rounded out by championship leader William Exton in his McLaren Artura and the Mercedes AMG of James Sax.

In Open Class, International Motorsport field a strong contingent of Porsche 992 Cup Cars (six) in the hands of Championship leader Rick Armstrong, followed by Sam Fillmore, Luke Manson, Paul Southam, Glenn Cotterill and Sam Cotterill.

Other Porsche’s fielded will be in the hands of Paul Kelly (Porsche 992), Marco Giltrap (Porsche 992) and the 991.2 Porsche Cup Cars of Shaun Varney and Tom Bewley. Bewley joining the field this weekend before embarking on a Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge campaign in Australia this year.

Race winning contenders Paul Pedersen and Joel Giddy will also line-up in their respective Mercedes AMG GT2 machines.

James Parker will field the sole IRC GT machine, taking over from Danny Stuttered who raced it at round one.

The racing at Hampton Downs this weekend will see two 30-minute races and a single 1-hour feature race held over the weekend.