Brazier and Waite Lead Lamborghini One-Two at Ruapuna

ROUND 2  ·  RUAPUNA, CHRISTCHURCH  ·  3 OCTOBER 2026

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Ruapuna delivered the season’s first three-hour race on Saturday, 3 October, as Signbase Round 2 of the 2026 South Island Endurance Series produced GT pace, changing conditions, close racing and some impressive drives across the classes.

Brazier and Waite Take Three-Hour Honours

Glen Brazier and Andrew Waite claimed overall victory in the three-hour endurance race aboard their Lamborghini, leading home fellow Lamborghini drivers Kane Lawson and Ronan Murphy to deliver James Marshall Motorsport an assertive one-two finish.

After a disrupted start to the endurance season, Brazier and Waite kicked off their ’26 campaign in style.

The pair had struggled for pace early in the weekend, but found their rhythm as the race progressed. Brazier handed the car over to Waite in a strong position after the leading Audi of Steve Brooks and Willie Exton suffered a mechanical failure and exited the race after 48 laps. Waite saw the job through from the driver change, bringing the Huracan home.

“Andrew does what he does and just held the gap and brought it home.”

Glen Brazier

For Lawson and Murphy, second place proved equally significant. The pair had only decided to enter the event at the last minute, with Murphy returning to racing after an 11-month absence, and Lawson praising the Southern series atmosphere and competitive nature in his post-race interview.

The final podium spot was filled by Andy Childe and Tom Alexander with their Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Despite a performance deficit vs the GT-class opposition, Alexander took it to the GT3 teams in the early stages, enjoying the David and Goliath tussle with the faster machines.

Childe, who had travelled from the Cayman Islands to race, was delighted with the team’s result, agreeing with Alexander that it had been a hugely enjoyable weekend.

Russell McKenzie and Mac Templeton took Class 3 honours in their Porsche, with Templeton producing one of the entertaining drives of the race during the opening stint. “We had to slow him down a little bit because he’s only used to sprint racing, and he passed a true GT3 car,” McKenzie said.

Grant and Cole Askew took Class 4 honours, adding another podium to their strong start to the season, while Class 5 was taken out by Mark Denton and Andrew French aboard their grassroots-spec BMW E30. Entered only 7 days prior to the weekend, it was the first three-hour endurance race for French, a veteran of 15 previous one-hour races.

Gardiner and Michels Continue the Fight

The one-hour Class 1, 2 and 3 race produced a significant turnaround from Round 1, with Hugh Gardiner taking overall and Class 1 honours ahead of Jordan Michels and Andy Childe.

Gardiner bounced back from his early exit at Levels to score a win, overhauling early leader Steve Brooks, while Michels’ second place was an outstanding result given the extensive work required to repair his Marc II Mustang after an incident during testing on Friday.

Michels’ family team worked late into Friday night to get the car back on the grid for Saturday’s race, with the reigning champion describing the effort as his team “punching above our weight.”

Childe completed the overall podium and Class 1 top three, while likely contenders Ollie Gibbons and Steve Brooks DNF’d with damage following a clash after a handful of intense laps.

Class	1st	2nd	3rd
Class 1	Hugh Gardiner	Jordan Michels	Andy Childe
Class 2	Michael Nel / Taylor Bryant	Nick Wright	Jason Scott / M Driver
Class 3	Wei Zhou / Josh Bethune	Michael Bushell / A McFarlane	Grant Silvester

Black Takes Class 4 and 5 Honours on Return

Warren Black took overall and Class 4 honours in his Audi RS3 TCR, an extraordinary result after missing Round 1 following a knee replacement only 8–10 weeks earlier.

For pole-sitter Gene Rollinson, the Ruapuna weather spoiled their pit strategy after the Hyundai TCR pilot was the class act all weekend. An early stop under dry conditions meant the team needed to box later for wet tyres when the skies opened, nonetheless finishing 4th and bagging the fastest lap of the race in the process.

Black had to nurse the Audi through the final 20 minutes after losing a door during contact with lapped traffic, but still managed to take the chequered flag ahead of Mike Hall and Cole Askew, both piloting VW Golf TCR machines.

“The way the pit stop worked, and then we were just lucky with the weather. We got the wets on and the car did the rest.”

Warren Black

Pos	Driver(s)	Car
1	Warren Black	Audi RS3 TCR
2	Mike Hall	VW Golf TCR
3	Cole Askew	VW Golf TCR

Warren Walker had Class 5 to himself and took maximum points, a perfect two from two that leaves him third in the combined Class 4 and 5 championship. Levels podium-finisher Zach Ming had a difficult afternoon, with pit stop issues costing him ground, though he remains second in the championship.

Watch Round 2 in Full

Round 2 was streamed live in full by The Pits TV.

A Huge Thank You to Our Competitors

SIERDC would like to thank every competitor who made the trip to Ruapuna and supported Round 2. The commitment from teams and drivers to put cars on the grid and deliver the first three-hour race of the season is hugely appreciated.

Thanks also to Signbase, title sponsor of Round 2, whose backing helped make the weekend happen.

The series now heads south to Teretonga Park for the series finale and a one-off three-hour National Endurance Championship round.

Championship standings are kept up to date on the points table.

Photography: Richard Opie