IRC Race Series Celebrates Its New Champions

IRC Race Series Celebrates Its New Champions

With the final round of the 2011/12 IRC Race Series held in scorching hot weather at the Taupo Motorsport Park over the weekend, the crowning of new series champions saw a select few drivers take home some prized silverware amongst their sack full of chocolate eggs.

The seven rounds of this year's IRC Race Series has seen events right across the North Island, travelling from Manfeild to Taupo, and up to Pukekohe and Hampton Downs.

With the final hit-out to take place around the technically challenging 3.5km former A1GP circuit, the victors would be well deserved at the conclusion of each championship.

GTRNZ
Overall Champion: Brian Gray
GT1 Champion: Brian Gray
GT2 Champion: Justin Herbert
NZGT Champion: Brett Harris

New GT1 Champion Brian Gray was a consistently strong force all season, earning both class and overall titles. His victory was cemented after close battles at Taupo with the Tranzam of Andy Greenslade, and Glenn Smith.

All three drivers scored race wins over the weekend at Taupo, while close behind in GT2, new Champion Justin Herbert was largely untroubled despite only finishing one race at the final Taupo round.

In NZGT, run as a separate grid in a separate race to the GT1 and GT2 classes, Brett Harris took the championship win from Roger Condor and Rick Bone.

Local driver Brock Cooley dominated the round however, in his Mitsubishi Evo, with none of the top three drivers featuring in the podium placings.

NITTO TYRES NZ SIX
Super 6 Champion: Adam Newell
HQ Holden Champion: Darren Swinburne

The Super 6 class went down to the wire this season with a handful of drivers in with a strong shot at the title heading into Taupo.

Each of the favourites - Adam Newell, Bronson Porter and David Dovey - were neck and neck and with all three having strong showings at Taupo, there were no major shuffles in the rankings allowing Newell to take the title from the chasing Porter and Dovey.

The result was a little more clear cut in the HQ Holdens, with season-long hotshot Darren Swinburne convincingly winning the round and the title from closest rival Garry Kirkbride.

MOTUL OIL SS2000
Overall Champion: Ant Te Rito
Honda Challenge Champion: Ant Te Rito

Taking a clean sweep of both championships within SS2000 was Ant Te Rito.

The Honda Civic driver was a reckonable force all season, but a strong charge from the Mazda RX7 of Brett Killip late in the season saw the title go right down to the wire, with Te Rito the champion by just 20 points.

The star at Taupo, however, was young Todd Prujean, the pint-sized youngster in his second season of SS2000 racing taking two race wins; the other claimed by Andy Duffin.

TOYO TYRES MAZDA PRO 7
Pro 7 Plus Champion: Dean McMillan
Pro 7 Champion: Matt Gibson

A clean sweep of qualifying and all three races at Taupo was the icing on the cake for new Pro 7 Plus Champion Dean McMillan. The former NZV8 driver was never headed all weekend, despite early pressure from Matt Carkeek and former Suzuki Swift Cup Champion William Bamber.

Also coming from a background in Suzuki Swift is new Pro 7 Champion Matt Gibson; the Wanganui driver taking out the series in his first full crack at the championship.

Gibson fought hard all season with Terry Loving, but grew stronger with time and showed his class at Taupo with scintillating pace, qualifying a full second shy of the nearest car.

KUMHO TYRES PRE 65
Overall Champion: Mike Johnston
Class A Champion: Bill McKinnon
Class B Champion: Graeme Lett
Class C Champion: Mark Bowskill
Class D Champion: Gary Rush

Despite entering the final round in the Class A lead and featuring strongly at Taupo, Bill McKinnon missed out on the overall championship win to Mike Johnston by a mere two points!

Such was the competition in the Pre 65 Championship this season, the top four overall drivers - Johnston, McKinnon, Andrew Alexander and Tony Eliger - were separated by a meager four point spread.

Graeme Lett's Class B victory was well received, as was Mark Bowskill in Class C after a season-long battle with Brad McDonald, who finished just ten points shy.

Gary Rush's strong season saw him win Class D in another close 'class within class' battle ahead of Richard Hill and Owen Jenkins in his previously featured Foley Minor.

NZ SPORTS CARS
Overall Champion: Alan Barker
Pro Sport Champion: Alan Barker
Club Sport Open Champion: Trev Lines
Super Sport Champion: Gary O'Keefe
Club Sport Champion: Chris MacLennan

Multiple class titles were up for grabs in the NZ Sports Cars, and Pro Sport Champion Alan Barker also claimed the overall NZ Sports Car title for the 2011/12 season.

Taupo was initially headed by class stalwart Iain Slight, who shared a race win with David Glasson in their respective Juno and Radical chassis.

However the final race of the season was won in style by the lightning quick V8-powered Juno driven by Geoff Short, in an entry that has won more often than not in every appearance throughout the season.

An incredible 27-car field for the NZ Sports Cars signalled that the future of the class is strong. Watch out for more of the same next season!

WELDWELL FORMULA FIRST
Champion: Matt Higham

In another classic battle of the young guns in Formula First, Matt Higham's rivals didn't make it easy for the new champion, though it can be said that the North Shore driver was in 'consolidation mode' for the final championship round at Taupo.

The race wins were shared by Rowan Shepherd, Ryan Hellier and Michael Scott, with Higham controlling his own destiny with solid fourth, second and fourth place finishes to take the hard fought title.

Hellier finished the season in second place, with Rowan Shepherd in third.

SUPER MINI CHALLENGE
Overall Champion: Steve Midgley
Open Champion: Steve Midgley
Mini 7 Champion: Elliot Heron
Miglia Champion: Bill Robson
Club Sport Champion: Greg Gordon

Steve Midgley took both the Open Class and overall Super Mini Challenge Championship, putting on a fine performance at Taupo with pole position and two race wins.

He was hounded by young defending, and now two-time Mini 7 Champion Elliot Heron, who showed pace beyond higher performance machines as he took an outright race win at the final round en route to another title success.

Bill Robson took out the Miglia Class, and Greg Gordon the Super class, with an eclectic mix of nimble, but surprisingly quick classic Mini race cars that took to the track over the season.

BRIDGESTONE PORSCHE
Open Champion: Ian Hayr
Class A Champion: Kevin Etches
Class B Champion: Tim James
Class C Champion: Jason Nicholl

The glamorous Porsches from all eras had an exciting season across all of its classes, headed at the front by defending champion Ian Hayr in his Porsche GT3.

Hayr's second championship didn't come easy however, and he was hassled all the way by Jeff Lowrey and the introduction of a number of ex-Porsche Cup cars, including Craig Innes who competed in the second part of the championship.

Kevin Etches and Tim James both had trouble-free runs en route to Class A and B victories, but the competition in Class C was hot with Jason Nicholl and Wayne Tinker battling right down to the wire.

The pair traded wins at Taupo with Nicholl getting the edge over Tinker by a mere 14 points.

NATIONAL SECURITIES CENTRAL MUSCLE CARS

While the Muscle Cars still have their flagship support event at the final running of the ITM 400 too look forward to, that didn't stop a spectacular 19-car field turning out for the Easter round at Taupo.

Shane Wigston had the measure of his rivals with pole position and two untroubled race wins, but it was Bruce Kett who finished the weekend on a high, just in front of former Super 6 frontrunner Shannon Coker.

With the winter break now approaching, the IRC Race Series and all of its staff, teams and drivers are already hard at work preparing for an even bigger and better 2012/13 championship.

ENDS

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