The 2016 Mahindra North Island Endurance Series is already promising to be the best yet, with early indications being that each round will feature capacity grids in the three hour events.
With entries only recently opened, the grid at the first three hour event at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo, is almost full already – at 38 cars – and organisers are urging anyone wishing to do the three hour race or series to get their entries in quickly.
“The grid capacity at Taupo is 45 which means there are only seven places left for those wishing to enter. With three weeks or so still to go, we think that’s amazing and a clear indication the three hour series is going to be a huge success,” explained series CEO Kel McBeath. “There is a bit more space available in the one hour race – we currently have 24 cars entered for that – but again the places are filling up fast and we would urge people to get their entries in now to avoid disappointment later.”
This year the series starts in Taupo, before moving to Hampton Downs for round two later in June and then to Manfeild in early July for the series finale. The starting procedure for each race in the series will also be the same as the recent national final, with a controlled in line start at racing speeds for the first corners of lap one to mitigate the risk of early damage or incidents.
“This is a drivers series and we want to discourage first lap heroes who will end up wrecking their race, their car and those of their fellow competitors around them,” added McBeath. “It’s an endurance race and we want everyone to be able to make a good fist of it, hence we want to reduce the risk of any pointless early contact.”
Some exciting new entries are also confirmed, with more details to come over the next two weeks.
Drivers must be registered with the North Island Endurance Racing Drivers Club (www.nierdc.com ) before they can enter, which they can do at www.motorsportentry.com
