The Nazcar PRO SERIES, a AASA Sanctioned National Endurance Championship in it’s fourth year running, kicked off Round 1 of the 2024 Championship this month at Taupo International Motorsport Park followed closely by Round 2 at the iconic Manfeild Chris Amon Circuit.
Founded by events guru Dr. Jacob Simonsen, NaZCAR is a100% Kiwi owned race series for newbies through to National Champions, with emphasis on easy, fun, safe and CHEAP entry into the world of motorsport! Not too dissimilar to Motor Events Racing Budget Endurance Races in Australia, NAZCAR offers multiple classes to choose from and supports a registered Charity in New Zealand, ALEC Men’s Health Charity, committed to empowering men to achieve health, performance and longevity amid today’s evolving challenges.
The first event to run, kicking off the championship, was the Firecracker 30. As the name would suggest, this is a first to 30 lap ‘sprint/enduro’ with 19 teams competing across two speed classes. Very tight action with the top 4 teams finishing on the same lap count and less than a second between multiple cars! In the end it would be team 899 “Trickle Racing” who would take victory in Missile Class while team 548 “Too Much Duff” would take the honours in the slower Rocket Class, still managing an impressive 4th outright finish ahead of multiple Missile Class cars!
The Round 1 ProSeries 3 hour and 6 hour races went green simultaneously at 11am with 18 teams chasing the 3 hour category and 23 teams vying for 6 hour honours. Clear winners emerged in both categories, but other podium and minor placings were hotly contested. Team 0 “Ghost Dog Racing” would take the 3 hour outright win in Super-Pro Class, the fastest class, ahead of GT-Pro winners team 608 “Get in Behind” and finally team 295 “Assassin Racing” took out the top spot Sport-Pro Class. The 6 hour champions were none other than team 61 “Shiny Side Racing” winning Super-Pro Class while team 608 “Get in Behind” would carry on from their victory at the 3 hour mark to stand on the top step of the GT-Pro podium twice in one day! Team 295 “Assassin Racing” would also continue on to take out the win in Sport-Pro Class.
Competitors were treated to a day of clean, fun and competitive racing, all the while with an eye on becoming the next New Zealand Endurance Champions.
Round 2 takes teams to the lower North Island of New Zealand at the iconic Manfeild Chris Amon Circuit, on the full International layout of 4.5km
