Motorsport: Baird's boys back

Brendon Hartley keeps ahead at Austin in the World Endurance Championship. Picture / Supplied

Team Kiwi returns to the nationals

This weekend sees two Kiwis racing internationally and the start of the NZV8 Touring Cars championship at Hampton Downs. It also sees the resumption of the NZ SuperTourers series.

National championship
The NZV8 Touring Cars championship is at the Waikato 400 at Hampton Downs over the weekend. Top billing would go to past champion Jason Bargwanna out of Australia who returns for his third season of the NZV8 Touring Cars TLX category driving a Toyota Camry to take on defending champion Nick Ross.

Ross and Bargwanna battled all season long, swapping the lead in the championship several times before Ross came out on top in his Holden. This season Ross will be driving a new Nissan Altima, which could be a risky move.

The NZV8 TL sees the return of Team Kiwi Racing in the hands of Craig Baird. The TL cars are contesting the national championship this year and Baird is keen to win another New Zealand title. TKR will also be running a second car as a scholarship for a young driver.

James McLaughlin could be the strongest challenge to Baird after leading the championship most of last season, only to lose the lead with a series of mishaps at the final round in April. Another tough challenger comes in the form of Kevin Williams, who won the final round at Pukekohe.

• For more car news go to nzherald.co.nz/driven

Hartley's Enduro bid
New Zealander Brendon Hartley is in Shanghai this weekend for round seven of the World Endurance Championship series.

The Kiwi is in his first full year as a factory Porsche driver. He will be sharing driver duties in the all-new 911 Hybrid LMP1 car with former F1 drivers Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard.

Porsche had been out of the top LMP1 class for 16 years but have two works cars competing this year. Both have tasted success with Hartley and his fellow drivers standing on the podium twice - at Silverstone and more recently in Fuji.

"I really enjoyed the race. It is a great feeling to step on to the podium as a Porsche works driver for the second time," said Hartley.

"All of us - the drivers as well as everybody in the team - have a steep learning curve this season."

There are only three rounds left in the WEC championship, including this weekend. Both the #14 sister car of Hartley, driven by Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb, and the Kiwi's No20 car will be keen this weekend to stand on the top spot as time is running out.

Bamber after title
This year has been a standout for rising Porsche motorsport star Earl Bamber. This season the young Kiwi, in an unheard of feat, was leading three international one-make championships - Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia and the Porsche Supercup.

Because dates clashed Bamber pulled out of the German championship to concentrate on the Asia series, which he won last weekend. He has also picked up the second part of a personal trifecta by clinching the Supercup rookie of the year in Monza last month.

This weekend he gets the chance to grab the last round of the Supercup in a support race at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Bamber is no stranger to racing in America, having raced a 911RSR at the Le Petit Le Mans endurance where he finished second in the factory GTLM car.

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