ETEC Motorsport are targeting glory in the 57th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix this weekend at Manfeild, culminating with the final round of the 2012 Toyota Racing Series.
The race will again be staged on the cambered bends of Manfeild Park in the Manawatu; a circuit reknowned for close racing and one where ETEC’s Josh Hill had his strongest showing in the 2011 championship.
21-year old Hill finished in fourth overall in the 2011 NZGP, and is confident of challenging for victory second time around. He heads into the event a close fourth overall in the points standings.
The event also holds a special place for local driver Jono Lester, whose grandparents built and ran the Manfeild circuit from 1973 to 2003.
Lester grew up at the facility and along with Malaysian team mate Melvin Moh gained productive mileage there in the pre-season Toyota Racing Series test in December.
For Indian driver Shahaan Engineer, the visit to Manfeild will be his first, however improved pace in recent rounds has the 16-year old – the youngest competition in this year’s New Zealand Grand Prix – excited at the prospect of a competitive outing.
The ETEC Motorsport team will travel to Manfeild from Hampton Downs, where round four of the championship was staged over the weekend.
There were flashes of brilliance for ETEC however many drivers were caught out as innocent parties in unfortunate race incidents over the weekend’s three races.
Heading into the final round of the 2012 Toyota Racing Series, Josh Hill sits in fourth overall with Jono Lester seventh, Shahaan Engineer 13th and Melvin Moh 18th.
