Kiwis racing overseas in motorsport this weekend

It’s a relatively quiet weekend this time around, with a lot of Kiwi’s competing over the past week around the world.

This week, however, does see the Australian leg of the GT World Challenge continue in Sandown, with Shane van Gisbergen competing alongside Prince Jefri Ibrahim in a Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Ryan Wood and Madeline Stewart will also make a return in support of the GT World Challenge, competing in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia, Sandown – Shane van Gisbergen

• Times:
  • Qualifying 1: Saturday 11:25am
  • Qualifying 2: Saturday 11:50am
  • Race 1: Saturday 3:25pm
  • Race 2: Sunday 3:35pm
• Where to watch: Live Stream

Van Gisbergen will return to Sandown this weekend after an epic Supercars event at Pukekohe one week ago. Partnering with Prince Jefri Ibrahim, the duo will compete in two 60 minute races, one on each Saturday and Sunday for Triple Eight Race Engineering, competing in a Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The field features a few familiar faces, with David Reynolds also making the most of the free weekend in his partnership with Tony Bates, and ex-Supercars veteran Garth Tander sharing the wheel with Yasser Shahin.

It’s Shahin who leads the series after the first two rounds, with Liam Talbot just eight points back in second. The van Gisbergen/Ibrahim pairing sit third in the standings, a further 13 points back.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia – Ryan Wood & Madeline Stewart

• Times:
  • Qualifying: Friday 5:40pm
  • Race 1: Saturday 1:10pm (14 laps)
  • Race 2: Saturday 4:45pm (14 laps)
  • Race 3: Sunday 12:45pm (35 laps)
• Where to watch: YouTube Highlights 

Ryan Wood sets out to continue his battle with Thomas Sargent in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge as it heads to Sandown this weekend.

After two rounds it’s Sargent who has the championship lead, winning the last four races putting him at the top of the leaderboard over Wood as the season enters its mid-stages. Sargent claimed all three races at Queensland Raceway last event-weekend, with Wood finishing the runner-up in each running.

Things were different in the first round in Sydney, Wood claiming the first two over Sargent, before the Australian came away with the third. The duo are running away with championship contention in a fierce battle, Sargent holding a 10 point lead heading into Sandown, with third placed Courtney Prince already 90 points off top spot.

Madeline Stewart has also been on the rise after the first two rounds, finishing as high as fourth in Race 1 at Queensland. She sits in seventh place heading into the event, but if the improvements continue should be aiming to come away in the top half of the Pro standings.