There was a differing sets of results today as two sets of Aston Martin Racing powered teams chased both race and championship results earlier today.

In Europe, we had three AMR Vantage crews set out on the third round of the Nurburgring Langstrecken Serie whilst down in New Zealand, we had another chasing championship ambition within their domestic GT New Zealand Series.

 

With a disappointing outcome for their sister car in the World Endurance Championship over at Sebring at the weekend, it was an opportunist class win for the D’Station Racing Vantage GT8R crew over at the opening round of the Super Taikyu Series at Suzuka earlier today.

With both Satoshi Hoshino and Tomonobu Fujii also due to race at available rounds of their Japanese series as and when their WEC allow, it was the #47 crew of Tatsuya Hoshino, Jake Parsons, Max Orido and Kenji Hama who took the ST-1 Class spoils after a late issue for the #2 KTM towards the end of the five-hour opener.

 

Two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT4’s complete the AMR runner orders within significant national events around the world these weekend as the Super Taikyu Series gets underway in Japan and the New Zealand GT Series holds its penultimate round of the year over there.

In Japan, the D’Station Racing team again compete with their Vantage GT8R as the opening round at Suzuka with driver Takuya Hoshino, Atsushi Takashi and Jake Parsons take the wheel of the #47 car – again in isolation from their #777 Vantage GT3 crew who are otherwise preoccupied at the opening round of the World Endurance Championship in Sebring.

 

It was to be better performance all round for the (now) two Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R’s entered into this weekend’s second round of the GT New Zealand from the Hampton Downs circuit.

With accomplished dirt track racer Joel Giddy racing what would be his first GT4 based race programme this weekend having only tested his former Shane Helms machine at the turn of the year, it was the veteran ex. pat racer Stephen Harrison who showed the early pace in Qualifying to come home on class pole ahead of Saturday’s opening thirty-minute race.

 

The preliminary testing sessions of the GT New Zealand Series have already taken place as the series embarks upon its second round of their four-round season around the picturesque Hampton Downs racetrack, just south of Auckland on the North Island.

What’s better for us this time is that we now have TWO Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R’s to support as dirt track racer Joel Giddy and his Mach 1 Engineering team joins that of the full season Race Lab supported Stephen Harrison entry this time around.Whilst on the subject of New Zealand’s GT racing scene, it appears that we will not be seeing this former Tony Quinn owned Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 compete again any time soon as its present owner has listed it ‘for sale’ on Racecarsdirect.com.

Having been raced in last season’s North Island Endurance Series with drivers John Penny and Ronan Murphy, it appears that that relationship is now at an end and Penny is seeking to off-load his racing investment.

Full details can be found here at https://www.racecarsdirect.com/Advert/Details/134768/2019-aston-martin-vantage-gt3

 

It appears that a second Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R is about to join the multi class ranks again of the GT New Zealand Series as a new buyer takes on a former series car.

Raced last year by Shane Helms, his former Race Lab prepared GT8R has now been secured by local dirt track racer Joel Giddy for the remaining three rounds of the 2023 domestic season with the support of the Mach 1 Engineering team.

Having not been able to commit to the full four round, three race per event format season because of his international travel commitments, has Giddy enter his #16 car from the second round at Hampton Downs later in February to join AMR stable mate Stephen Harrison with his #78 Race Lab prepared Aston.

 

The opening round of the GT New Zealand Series from Highlands Park opens their 2023 season account this weekend with three races featuring last season’s runner up, Stephen Harrison and his Race Lab prepared Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R.

 

Another healthy inter class grid helps to kick off the four round domestic series with Harrison’s car amongst the fifteen GT4 and eight Open class cars that will make up this weekend’s grid.

Like last season, the race format will be two thirty-minute sprint races followed by one hour long, pit stop punctuated race to end with a ready reckoner balance of performance process being in place per race with their minimum pit stop time during race three being dependent upon how well they have done so far.

 

Last season, Harrison narrowly missed out on the GT4 title to Nigel Cromie and his McLaren 570s after a post-race time penalty eventually dropped him behind the McLaren driver at the end.

This year maybe different!

 

Photo credits – Team / Series

 

Previously named the Super GT New Zealand Series, the now GT New Zealand Championship hits the tracks of that country again in mid-January 2023 with another expected grid of over thirty cars.

Having come so close last time out after a pit stop penalty GT4 Championship defining moment at the final round of the season sees another RaceLab prepared Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT8R for ex pat. Stephen Harrison’s return for a second attempt as one of two expected AMR powered entries within the Championship.