Highlands 101 kiwi trophies Euan Cameron

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Kiwi teams to get special Highlands 101 trophies; Tander takes AGT pole

07/11/2014 5:56pm

Australian star Garth Tander is on pole with Tony Quinn for the first of two races in the final round of the Australian GT Championship (AGT) being run at Highlands Motorsport Park this weekend, and the three top Kiwi teams contesting this weekend’s Highlands 101 endurance race will win their own special trophies.

This weekend’s Highlands 101 event (8-9 November) features the AGT finale and the three-and-a-bit hour endurance race of the same name which is contested by the AGT cars plus 11 New Zealand teams.

Having the finale of an Australian championship being raced in New Zealand is unique in Australasian motorsport. Add in the glamour factor of the 27 GT3 race cars – the competition debut of the Bentley GT3, plus Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Ginetta, Porsche, Audi and Ascari – and it’s no wonder motorsport fans are travelling from all over the South Island and New Zealand to watch the spectacle.

Tander’s pole-setting time of one minute, 31.855 seconds in the VIP Petfoods Aston Martin could give his lead driver Tony Quinn the advantage that Quinn is looking for over current championship points-leader Richard Muscat who was second-quickest. Muscat has a 32 point lead over Quinn for the AGT title, so with 50 points up for grabs for each race, the title could yet go to either driver. Third-quickest is the Justin McMillian/Steven Richards pairing in a Lamborghini, followed by Kiwi racer Jono Lester in a just-imported Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 and Aussie legend John Bowe in another Ferrari rounding out the top five.

Highlands’ general manager Mike Sentch says the new Kiwi class trophies recognise the importance of the New Zealand-based teams in creating a truly competitive race for the Highlands 101.

“It’s vital to the appeal of the Highlands 101 race to see the best GT race cars from around New Zealand and Australia in action,” says Sentch.

The Kiwi teams include Southland’s Inky Tulloch with the only Chevrolet Camaro GT3 car in the Southern Hemisphere – the multiple trans-Tasman race champion has secured the assistance of three-time V8 Supercar champion Craig Lowndes this weekend and the pair will compete in the two AGT races and the Highlands 101. Also vying for the Kiwi trophies are Jono Lester and Graeme Smyth in the recently-imported Trass Family Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, New Zealand endurance race winner Simon Ellingham and Andre Heimgartner, and Andrew Bagnall and Anthony Pedersen both lining up in Porsche 997 GT3 Cup cars.

“It’s quite possible that the winning Kiwi class team is also the outright Highlands 101 winner, so there’s a lot of exciting race action to come this weekend.”

The Highlands 101 race weekend comprises:

  • The 101-lap feature race with entrants from the Australian GT Championship and eligible Kiwi teams and cars;
  • The final round of the Australian GT Championship where the 2014 championship winners will be decided – current series leader Erebus Motorsport Mercedes Benz SLS AMG driver Richard Muscat has a slim 32 point advantage over VIP Petfoods Aston Martin Vantage driver Tony Quinn;
  • The 1+01 endurance race, a one-hour-plus-one-lap invitational attracting enduro racers from across the South Island and as far afield as Auckland;
  • The Euromarque 10+1 races, a set of three 11-lap races for cars meeting the German origin regulations;
  • Lunchtime entertainment with drift star Mad Mike Whiddett drifting the Highlands circuit for the first time, skydivers jumping from a helicopter high over the circuit and an aerobatics display.

Photo: Euan Cameron