Recovery from appendicitis and a 30-hour trip from Finland were not going to get in the way of Callum Hedge racing in the 68th New Zealand Grand Prix.
Mr Hedge was in Finland for a Porsche Ice Experience, part of his prize for winning the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
Despite lacking track time due to his recovery and knowing he would miss vital practice in the car ahead of the competition, Mr Hedge said it was too good an opportunity to miss.
"It was a long trip but I’m really glad I made it here to the Grand Prix here at Highlands," he said.
Adjusting to the car and the quick turnaround had been "interesting" to get his head around and he felt he got on top of it quickly, he said.
"It’s been super fun to get back in the car after not really doing a lot for the last month or so. I wasn’t able to do any other preseason tests so for me it’s really good to get some mileage and really thankful to have the Tony Quinn Foundation come on board and make this weekend happen."
The weekend’s racing gave Mr Hedge the opportunity to get some some much-needed seat time ahead of his 2024 Indy NXT campaign — he heads to the United States next month.
Mr Hedge joined a stellar lineup of 17 other drivers hoping to take home the championship title including Liam Sceats, Roman Bilinski, Alex Crosbie, 16, and Ryder Quinn, 17.
Ryder is the grandson of Highlands owner Tony Quinn.
"It’s been a long time coming. It’s been 10 years in the making and it certainly feels, I suppose, the anticipation of it coming and everything else, has been a long time," Mr Quinn said.
"It’s great to have all the young kids from all over the world trying to do their best."
He said the Grand Prix probably belonged in a more populous area and after the series he planned to have a debrief to "work out what’s best".
