Katikati’s Aryton Hodson big part of winning motorsport team

Following on from a stunning debut year racing sprintcars at Mercury Baypark Speedway, Katikati’s Ayrton Hodson has shown again that he’s not just a threat on dirt ovals.

Driving a BMW Z4 with co-driver Brett Sullivan from Nelson, the two have just completed the Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series at Hampton Downs and Taupō Motorsport Park.

After a fantastic class-winning performance in wet conditions at Hampton Downs on April 22, the driving team were just going to need a solid couple of days at Taupō Motorsport Park to secure the class four and five North Island Endurance Series title.

During practice, their eyes were firmly focused on the Seat Leon that had finished second to them in the previous round. A second place would have seen them tied on points. However, the count-back system was all in their favour, with Aryton securing pole positions in the class in both rounds and also taking out the fastest lap. The team and drivers were hoping the count-back wouldn’t come into play and set about a very methodical approach during practice on a cool but stunningly clear Friday at Taupō.

Both drivers clocked some impressive times, with the BMW Z4 clocking 230km/h down the long top straight at Taupō Motorsport Park. Some small tweaks to the car had settled it down under braking and both drivers were very comfortable throughout the day. The main contender in the Seat Leon was also putting down impressive times in the dry conditions and appeared like they would pose more of a threat in the dry than they had previously done in the wet at Hampton Downs.

Things got a little nervous mid-afternoon, with the car refusing to start for the last practice. The team from Action Motorsport sprung into action, securing a replacement sensor from Auckland. With that sensor not arriving until late Friday night and the team keen to ensure that would solve the fault, they set about locating one in Taupō – returning to the track an hour later with a unit located at a car wrecker’s in town. To everyone’s relief, the sensor resolved the issue and the car fired up happily and completed a couple of carpark test laps late Friday afternoon.

Another stunning 4C morning welcomed the teams to the track Saturday. The plan was the same as Hampton Downs, with Ayrton to qualify the car and Brett to start the race before handing it over to Ayrton to complete it. A stunning time was laid down by Ayrton, putting them almost a full second ahead of their main opposition in class four.

The race was a non-stop affair with no safety car involvement at all. Brett did a great job in the early session. The Seat Leon proved its pace, taking over the class lead after about 20 minutes. Brett was doing a solid job keeping close to the Seat, and the team were comfortable in the fact that, provided the gap wasn’t massive, Ayrton would be able to bring it home in the second stint. While the Z4 kept on driving around faultlessly, the Seat developed some intermittent gearbox issues and following the driver change, the Z4 piloted by Ayrton was in the lead. After a couple of blistering initial laps – including their quickest of the race – the team got Ayrton to dial it back and drive to a specific number each lap, ensuring the car would make the final lap without a fuel stop.

Ayrton drove faultlessly and brought the car home three-quarters of a lap up on their main opposition. This secured their team the round win and also the class four overall championship for the Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series. It was a fantastic effort by all, considering this series was the first time on-track for the Z4 and also saw Brett returning to the track for the first time following a horrific accident while driving a Porche. The team have now confirmed both drivers will compete in the South Island Endurance Series at Ruapuna, Timaru and Teretonga in Invercargill, which will kick off in September.