Lawson’s chance in US shootout

NZ Formula 1600 champion Liam Lawson is in Arizona this weekend along with a 20-strong international driver line-up, all vying for the Mazda Road to Indy

USF2000 $200,000 Scholarship Shootout.

Champion drivers from nine countries have been invited to compete in the two-day event where the winner will claim a

$200,000 scholarship prize from Mazda into the 2018 Cooper Tires

USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

This is the first rung on the highly acclaimed open-wheel development ladder that offers opportunities to progress all the way from the grassroots of the sport through USF2000, the Pro Mazda Championship and Indy Lights to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.

The Shootout weekend features a full day of on-track activity on Saturday with instructor feedback throughout the day followed by a private dinner for drivers with the judging panel.

Following morning on-track sessions on Sunday, judges will convene to narrow down the field of contestants.

Drivers continuing will take part in qualifying sessions and a

30-minute race.

The judges will then meet for a final time to select the winner of the shootout.

This is the second time a Kiwi driver has taken part with Christchurch Ara Institute student Michael Scott the first in

2016.

New GIXXER Cup class for Superbikes

The popular annual threeround Suzuki Series kicks off the New Zealand road-race season at Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park this Sunday.

Entries are full across a multiple of classes that are used as a prelude to the four round national NZ Superbike Championships.

These begin in Christchurch January 6-7, with rounds to follow in Timaru, Hampton Downs and Taupo.

Both the Suzuki Series and the NZ Superbikes will feature a new class this year for fledgling riders – the GIXXER Cup class, reserved for riders aged between 14 and 21 and all on board identical 150cc Suzuki GSX150F model bikes.

There will be at least 20 riders on the starting grid in the GIXXER Cup class, with entries received from as far afield as Greymouth, Timaru and Auckland

Hudson youngest winner Papanui High School student Amy Hudson has become the youngest winner of a New Zealand Rally title.

At the age of 16, Hudson was the co-driver for Waiuku’s Dylan Thomson this season competing in the six round NZ Rally Championship.

The pairing won the 2WD title driving a Ford Fiesta that had previously been campaigned by Nelson’s Ben Hunt.

McLaughlin’s team to review pit-lane penalty

Supercars driver Scott McLaughlin was issued a penalty at the Newcastle 500 for exceeding the pit lane speed limit during his first pit of the final race, which arguably affected the ultimate result of the season title.

His DJR Team Penske accepts that the outcome of the Championship cannot be altered, but the team feels it has a responsibility to seek clarity and to ensure the methods used to enforce pit lane speed limits going forward are as accurate as possible for all competitors.

According to the team’s analysis of multiple different data/ video feeds, Scott didn’t exceed the 40 km/h speed limit at any point in pit lane.

While Supercars has confirmed the accuracy of their timing system, members of their technical staff have agreed to attend a meeting at the DJR Team Penske workshop on Monday to review the incident with the team’s technical staff.