The first round of seven for the 2023-2024 Super Sprint MotorSport New Zealand Championship season begins next weekend with six categories taking to the Taupō International MotorSport Park.

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The series will again be televised live on Sky Sport in New Zealand and Fox Sports in Australia, as well as Pasifika television.

Toyota 86 Championship

Starting its 11th season with new and some returning drivers the Toyota 86 Championship is proving a stepping-stone path for bringing talent through the ranks in preparation for greater challenges.

• Largest field yet with 24 entered,

• 4 x women drivers – including Breanna Morris,

• 9 x rookies,

• Jackson Rooney, Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy scholarship winner, will start his first car race,

• A stepping stone for aspiring racers: Hauraki Plains College student Ryan Denize (17) steps up from car club events to championship racing,

• Next generation: Cormac Murphy, younger brother of Ronan and son of Greg Murphy, is stepping into championship racing.

• https://www.toyota.co.nz/toyota-racing/toyota-86-championship/

Summerset GT New Zealand

• Diverse mix of factory specification cars from Mercedes-Benz AMG, McLaren to Porsche,

• Welcomes four of the latest generation Porsche 911 series 992 cars,

• Father/son two-car team of Glenn and Sam Cotterill,

• Porsche Endurance Trophy with a Porsche Motorsport factory trophy up for grabs,

• Giltrap Motorsport Junior Scholarship (GMJS) winner Brock Gilchrist will take to the wheel of the SP Tools McLaren 570S for his first race of the season,

• Several new and young drivers including Regan Scoullar  (Porsche 991.2), Ayrton Hodson (18) Porsche 991.1

• https://www.facebook.com/GTNZChampionship/

Hamilton Asphalts Super V8

• Combines the V8 categories, including V8 Utes (11 of),

• Eight of the new TA2 V8 cars will start this round,

• Mix of V8 SuperTourers and the new MARC GT car, driven by Gene Rollinson,

• Expecting 25 starters, increasing during the season to 30.

• https://ta2nz.co.nz/

Pirelli Porsche

• First of two events with the Super Sprint series,

• Mix of models from early model 911 to Boxster,

• Second of six rounds for the 2023-2024 season.

• https://www.porsche.org.nz/porscheclubs/pc_newzealand/pc_main.nsf/web/6D5467A1C6B13E25C12582E8002F1D3B

Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series

• Grid of 24 cars join for the first of five rounds of the Super Sprint season,

• Combination of RX7s and RX8 model cars,

• Christchurch (Prebbleton) 16-year-old Chris White junior currently leads the series after winning two races and finishing second in the other – at the season opener,

• Mix of North and South Island competitors – contesting regional and overall honours,

• https://www.mazdaracingseries.co.nz/

TradeZone GTRNZ

• First of three events on the Super Sprint calendar for the 2023-2024 season,

• Entry list of 60 cars,

• Divided into four classes based on speed, they are split in the middle to create two individual race groups. There will be 19 in the GT1 and GT2 field with 31 in the GT3/GT4 group.

• Founded the GT Young Guns membership as part of the Hampton Downs Driver Academy. Currently three drivers are eligible,

• Reece Hendl-Cox (2 x Formula First champ) currently leading the GT3 category,

• Tania Jones joins the grid along with husband and series leader Kerry Jones,

• Living his best life: 73-year-old Brian Hamilton is battling Parkinson’s disease and placing top-four in the GT4 category,

• Promotional video: https://youtu.be/h3_cQBjmIRA?si=PaLPeENsMwM84a7X

• https://www.gtrnz.co.nz/