Christchurch drivers dominate endurance race

Christchurch pair Steve Brooks and Bill Riding guide their Audi R8 to victory in the three-hour...
Christchurch pair Steve Brooks and Bill Riding guide their Audi R8 to victory in the three-hour race at Teretonga on Saturday. Trailing are Glen Brazier and Andrew Waite in the Lamborghini Huracan GT3. PHOTO: DAVE LOUDON
There was plenty of entertaining racing over both three hours and one hour in the opening round of the South Island Endurance Series at Teretonga, south-west of Invercargill, on Saturday.

Steve Brooks and Bill Riding, of Christchurch, claimed a dominant win in the three-hour race, while Hugh Gardiner (Auckland) and Warren Black (Oamaru) won the class 2-3 and class 4-5 one-hour races respectively.

The anticipated clash between the Audi R8 of Brooks and Riding and the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Glen Brazier (Invercargill) and Andrew Waite (Auckland) did not come about in the three-hour race after the Lamborghini battled both battery and ABS braking issues.

The Audi had started on pole with the Lamborghini alongside but Brooks and Riding had a largely trouble-free day and crossed the line after completing 183 laps.

They were seven laps ahead of fellow Cantabrians Paul Rickerby and Graham Rhodes (Marc Mustang) with brothers Martin and Allan Dippie, of Otago, third in their Porsche 992.

Brazier and Waite came home fourth with Waite having the consolation of setting the fastest lap of the race with a time of 54.788sec.

Both one-hour races provided good racing and exciting finishes.

Christchurch driver Adam Julian (Audi R8) and Invercargill driver Jordan Michels (Marc Mustang) featured in a battle for the class 2-3 lead until Michels was forced to pit with a slow tyre leak.

Two safety car appearances punctuated the race with the second setting up a sprint to the finish.

After the final restart, Gardiner applied pressure to Julian, which caused the Canterbury driver to have a brief moment at the elbow, allowing Gardiner to take the lead.

Michels had powered back to third and threatened to also get past Julian late in the race. He ended the race third after a good drive back through the field which yielded a lap record of 56.361sec.

Gardiner, Julian and Michels took the spoils in class 2 while Cromwell driver Stephen Scoles (Ginetta G56) claimed class 3 honours from James Paterson (Audi R8) and David Rogers (McLaren 570S).

The field of 29 cars in the class 4-5 race provided a fine contest. Black — a runner-up last year — won in his Audi RS3 LMS from Pel Arnott (Hyundai i30N) and reigning New Zealand Formula Ford champion Blake Knowles in a similar Hyundai.

Lower Hutt driver Chris Wall led home a Honda Civic trifecta in class 5 ahead of Donovan Isted and Jordan Rae.