The #16 Giddy car is also no stranger to the series as was raced by Shane Helms in the then named Super GT NZ Series alongside Harrison out of the Race Lab garage.

With wet weather welcoming the twenty-six car GT entry, there will be ground to make up for Harrison within the GT4 class after his domineering pace of last season was left lacking at the sun blessed opening meeting of the season at Highlands Park three weeks ago which has already left the #78 car seventh in class after the three opening races.

Giddy will also have to hone his GT racing skills to the available sessions before Saturdays opening thirty-minute race after reportedly only testing out his new stead once before committing to the remaining rounds of the series.

Featuring another diverse entry of twelve cars into this round, this pairing will again have to overcome driver pairings that feature big names from the antipodean GT racing arena like Jonny Reid, Greg Murphy and Chris Van der Drift.

Photo credits – N Bailey  / Team

Drivers John Penny and Ronan Murphy are feeling optimistic about the remaining races in the 2022 Golden Homes North Island Endurance series, despite things getting off to a bumpy start at the opening round at Pukekohe Park, held over the weekend (7th - 8th May). 

The duo made their co-driving debut in an Aston Martin AMR Vantage V8 GT3, sponsored by Penny Homes and Aston Martin Auckland, and were able to adapt quickly to the new car despite it only having arrived into the country a week prior. 

“It was almost straight out of the container and onto the race track,” Murphy explained.

“The RaceLab crew didn’t have a lot of time to prepare the car and did an amazing job with such limited time, and we knew it was going to be a matter of just getting straight out there and learning as much as possible, as quickly as we could. We were quite fortunate we didn’t have any major issues during practice, so we did get that time to really focus on getting comfortable with the new car and finding our footing.”

The success of Friday’s practice session carried over into the following day, with Murphy setting the 3rd fastest time of the 30 minute session.

The 3-hour endurance race was another story, however.

Penny piloted the Aston Martin for the first stint but just before the first scheduled pitstop an issue with the cars low fuel alarm left him seemingly stranded on the side of the track. Running on fumes, he was eventually able get the V8 Vantage back to the pits.

“We were very much in the hunt up until that point, but that put us two laps down and was ultimately what cost us,” Penny says.

“The key things we took away from the weekend were that the car uses a bit more fuel than we were hoping, so we’ll have to work on that — that’s just engine mapping. The other issue was with our chassis set-up, which still needs perfecting. Although these are things that you walk away feeling concerned about, they’re also positive — they tell us that really there’s a lot more in the car.”

Murphy took up the helm for the second stint, with Penny then bringing the car home in 5th position just behind Greg Murphy, who also competed in the 3-hour race alongside Shane Helms. Andrew Waite and Sam Fillmore took out the top spot, followed by Ant and Paul Pederson, then Daniel Gaunt and Andrew Fawcett in third.

“We were disappointed, obviously, but there are some real positives to take away as well,” says Penny.

“Ronan did a fantastic job in qualifying, and he really stepped up so that was great to see him in a good space and showing his potential.”

20-year-old Murphy came away from the first race feeling positive despite the hurdles faced.

“It was a really enjoyable experience for me and it was a weekend with a lot of firsts. Pukekohe is an exciting track to race at and it’s also very high risk, so you definitely have to be cautious and very methodical in the way you approach it.”

“The car was incredible to drive though – I’ve never driven something with that much power or downforce. It has a lot of potential which we’re yet to unlock.”

The team has plenty of data to go through before the second round of the 2022 Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series kicks off at Taupō Motorsport on May 27th-28th.

Drivers Ronan Murphy and John Penny are confirmed for the three round series that also takes in race time at both the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park at the end of the month before concluding at Hampton Downs in mid-June.

This will be the first visit of an AMR Vantage GT3 within New Zealand’s GT race series since that of Darren Kelly and Alex Riberas in their Heart of Racing car back in 2021.

This car is indeed Tony Quinn’s former race car that he ran in the GT World Challenge Australia Series last season.

Turner missed the last two rounds of the Championship, both at Snetterton and Oulton but left Guess in the capable hands of Tom Canning where they came away from those rounds with a pair of podium finishes between them. Getting the taste for champagne in his British GT GT4 customer duties, we sense that their race intentions will be strong.

For the #15 Century car, whilst Oulton Park did reward the duo with some silverware the season so far for them has been of something so close but so far as Ellis was originally meant to be the driver coach for Holloway racing alongside Adam Hatfield.

With Free Practice and Qualifying on Saturday morning, the afternoon will feature both a twenty-five-minute sprint race for the Am driver followed with a fifty-minute pit stop race for both drivers (if they have two) later in the afternoon.

Sunday will follow a similar format with Free Practice and Qualifying again in the morning followed by another single driver sprint race and another pit stop punctuated race in the afternoon.

Present Championship positions see the #82 crew drop down to P13 in the overall table and down to P3 in their GTH Class. The #15 Century lies P28 overall and P7 in class whilst the #72 Whitebridge car (thanks to its periodic attendances with first his normally aspirated AMR and then his new generation AMR) in P9 in class.

Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams

The top Qualifying AMR car was the #38 Vantage GT4 of Dale Albutt who would start from P22 overall and P6 in Class 4. They would be followed by the #68 car in P24/P8 and then the newer, turbo charged 2019 AMR Vantage GT4 of Chris Murphy just behind. The fourth car came in the form of Mike Coker’s Valour Racing #73 car who would start his first Britcar event from P27 (P1 in class being the only INV class car to run).

Having started upon a dry track it wasn’t long before the rain started to fall, initially only around parts of the circuit but not all of it as many hung on in there with their slick tyres.

We lost the #73 car with steering issues after only nine laps but the other three full season entries continued through rain and sunshine before the weather front eventually passed over. 

With the weather having now stabilised to dry with periodic bouts of sunshine, the race was then allowed to flow through to its conclusion.

By the end of the two hours, Murphy was the highest placed AMR car P18 overall/P5 in class with the #7 Triple M Automotive AMR of Dale and Mark Albutt next in P20/P7. The #68 Team Brit car would conclude its day’s proceedings in a disappointing P23/P8

The #68 Team Brit crew presently sit in fifth place in the Endurance Championship after podium finishes at all the previous rounds so far which is a remarkable achievement considering their own set of personal circumstances that motor racing is helping them (and others with the team’s multi-class racing programme) to overcome.

Qualifying is due to take place just before noon with the start of the 120 minute race being flagged off at 15:55hrs

Photo credits – Team Brit / Eat my Pixels

Not even the presence of the 2019 British GT GT4 Champion Tom Canning, deputising for Darren Turner within the Feathers team with James Guess was enough to break the stalemate – well until the final pits stop race of the weekend where the #82 car eventually secured a P2 finish within the GTH class.

David Holloway again had Bradley Ellis with him aboard their #15 car and the best that they could do was a P4 finish in class during Saturday’s pit stop race whilst Chris Murphy learned more about his ex. David Appleby Engineering AMR Vantage GT4 having only acquired it in time for the round at Brands Hatch.

The #47 Ultimate Speed Vantage GT3 car of Mike Brown gave a good representation of himself but again lacked that little punch that his normal co-driver Matt Manderson would have brought to the car but still, they had a good meeting despite some very close attention from some competitors.

With the Championship season still young, it is still too early for teams to think too hard about the end goal as the Championship moves onto Oulton Park in a month’s time.

Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams

Full season entries from Flowers Motorsport, Whitebridge Motorsport and Century Motorsport however, all come back with the sole purpose of trying to win their respective GTH class with their AMR Vantage GT4 platforms.

All three teams lay within the top six in class and two out of the three will feature differing co-drivers than first stated at the start of the season as 2019 British GT GT4 Champion as Tom Canning joins James Guess and his second placed in class #82 Flowers Motorsport in lieu of Darren Turner who will be racing at the ADAC Total N24 in Germany this weekend. Canning comes to Norfolk 'fresh' from his GT4 European Series exploits from Paul Ricard of last weekend.

Then the sixth placed in class #15 Century Motorsport prepared car of David Holloway will again be joined by their driver coach Bradley Ellis as Adam Hatfield sadly continues to be absent through personal reasons.

That leaves the #72 AMR of a solo Chris Murphy who presently lies P5 in the GTH class having swapped to a 2019 specification AMR Vantage GT4 prior to the Brands Hatch round from his older 2016 generation GTB classed Aston.

The #52 Deranged Motorsport AMR Vantage GT4 of Matt Lewis and Ollie Brown again continues to be absent from the entry list and has not been since the car failed during the second race of the opening round at Donington Park, and despite Matt Lewis being named within the AMR Drivers Academy 2021 intake just a couple of weeks ago.

Unlike the previous round at Brands Hatch where the GT Cup grid competed just a single 50-minute pit stop punctuated race, the Snetterton round reverts back to a traditional three race format over both Saturday and Sunday. Also, and unlike the last round at Brands, fans are permitted into the circuit at Snetterton but tickets do have to be purchased in advance as they will not be available at the gate.

Photo credits – GT Cup / Teams

Having Qualified in P10 overall (second in their Group 4 class) behind the EDF Motorsport Seat Cupra again, race 1 started for Trundley in gloomy conditions as heavy rain swept in by strong winds dramatically affected track conditions with a Safety Car being required at the halfway point of the hour-long race to allow for the recovery of a stranded car having ran as high as P4 overall.

Going back to green, Morgan was soon taken for Class position by the EDF car but still had track position to maintain their P2 position in class during the remaining ten minutes to claim their second podium of the season.

Starting the afternoons second and final race of their meeting from the fifth row, Morgan would at least have the chance of starting on a wet to drying track as the light began to fade under the still cloudy sky.

Progressing well, two more stranded cars again called out the Safety Car just ahead of the pitstop window but delays on track and a scary incident in pit lane for three cars lead to further delays in going back to green.

Losing nearly half the race duration to these incidences, Trundley would have only about fifteen minutes to see out the day’s proceedings and from fifth in class at the resumption of racing, Trundley would eventually take the lead of Group four with just three minutes remaining to round off a brilliant weekend for them and this special team

Well done them all!

The Ultimate Speed AMR Vantage GT3 of Matt Manderson and Mike Brown made their GT Cup 2021 debut this weekend (having raced with the series last year of course) with their new 2019 iteration of the Vantage GT3 platform that they will run periodically in both GT Cup and British GT. They joined season regulars from the Feathers Motorsport team for James Guess and Darren Turner as well as the Century Motorsport team for David Holloway and a returning Bradley Ellis (not sure what’s happened with Adam Hatfield) who both run the new 2019 Vantage GT4.

Interestingly, the shape of the #72 GTB Whitebridge Motorsport normally aspirated AMR entry has morphed in a new GTH Class AMR Vantage GT4 after Chris Murphy secured one of the former Appleby Engineering cars that have been on sale over the winter months.

Two, fifty-minute races were held on Saturday and both were interrupted by the Safety Car – thankfully only for marshal safety whilst the recovered stricken vehicles from around the track but interrupt the flow of the races they did none the less.

No joy for any AMR during race 1 with the #82 car collecting a puncture with all the GT4 cars finishing between P8-P12 in class. The #47 GT3 car finished P8 overall but against some fairly healthy GT3 opposition.

Race 2 was better however with the #82 Feathers AMR collecting another class podium in P2 but with the #15 Century car not too far behind in P4.

Next round of the Championship is at Snetterton in four weeks’ time.

A speedy young pair and despite that spin in race one, the #68 crew still finished first ahead of the other two AMR Vantage GT4 cars from both Whitebridge Motorsports and Triple M Automotive in both of the day’s races.

The Britcar Endurance Championships moves onto Round 2 at Snetterton on May 8th.

Photo credits – Britcar / Team Brit

Amongst the impressive thirty-eight car entry for this weekend four opening races will now feature four Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4’s – two being the older normally aspirated engine cars whilst two will be the newer 2019 specification, turbo charged model.

Long standing AMR runner and former GTH Class Champion, Chris Murphy again returns to the Championship as a solo driver with his older model of AMR GT4 competing in the GTB class along with the Deranged Motorsport squad of Matthew Lewis/Ollie Brown running their car in the GTH Class.

Joining these two entries will be the two new turbo charged AMR Vantage GT4’s from both Feathers Motorsport and Century Motorsport and their crews of James Guess with Darren Turner and David Holloway with former GTH Champion Adam Hatfield.

This won’t be the first time the latest AMR GT4 has competed in the Championship after Holloway ran an Optimum Motorsport prepared car at the Snetterton round in 2019 with the intention of running a full season entry in 2020 before COVID took care of that before Newbridge ran their new Vantage in selected rounds last season. Today we have had the first glimpses of the #15 Century Aston.

Hopefully, it will be better luck for all concerned this season.