The 2026 South Island Endurance Series drew to a close on Saturday, with the 3-Hour finale doubling as the title race for the New Zealand Endurance Championship. The promise of a national title brought a strong field to Teretonga Park, with the 3-Hour especially benefitting from a four-car GT Class assault, comprising veteran drivers and young talent alike.
A sustained, frenetic pace among the lead cars, combined with safety car drama in the closing minutes ensured a fitting finale, with titles settled across all three races.
Brooks and Exton Take the National Crown
After three hours of battle, Steve Brooks and Willie Exton have lifted the 2026 New Zealand Endurance Championship trophy, just two weeks after their Audi R8 LMS Evo 2 experienced catastrophic mechanical failure ending their run for victory at Ruapuna whilst holding a significant lead.
Brooks went toe-to-toe with Sam Fillmore throughout the opening stint, the two Audis streaking away from the rest of the field with Fillmore holding the initial advantage through those early stages. A bobble from Fillmore at the elbow left the window open for Brooks, with the black-and-gold R8 slipping through to take control of the race.
Fillmore pushed hard to respond, unfortunately spinning, and while managing to continue the race and retain position on the road, allowed Brooks some valuable breathing room ahead of the driver change pit-window.
“I ran out of talent. We were going toe for toe.”
Sam Fillmore
Exton belted himself into the Audi for his stint, and impressed with his pace, keeping the experienced Jonny Reid at bay despite the latter maintaining a hard-charging attitude until the chequered flag.
Exton – who came to the drive through his friendship with Brooks’ Australian series co-driver Ryan Wood – said the trickiest part of his stint was negotiating lapped traffic – working out where to pass, and whether the slower cars would leave the door open. He was modest about his role, claiming Brooks’ strong opening drive had handed him the easy job of hitting his marks and keeping it out of the wall.
“For Willie to be out there and actually stretching out past Johnny just shows how good Willie is.”
Steve Brooks
Fillmore and Reid took second for the IMS team. Reid never gave up the chase, but contact with lapped traffic in a braking zone during the twilight stages of the race brought out a safety car with a minute and a half to run – ending any chance of a final shot at the win.
The final podium spot was claimed by Scott O’Donnell and Chris White Jnr aboard O’Donnell’s screaming Porsche 991 GT3 R.
It was White’s first-ever race in a GT3 car, posting the fastest lap of the race outright and his second podium of the day after finishing runner up in the Class 4 and 5 one-hour.
White expressed his gratitude for the opportunity, and exclaimed he loved every second of the experience. “It takes us old guys perhaps, to pay the bills,” said O’Donnell, pointing to recent SIERDC outings by Supercars star Wood, as well as the weekend appearances of Exton and Allan, as proof of the South Island Endurance Series as a place for young talent to shine.
| Pos | Driver(s) | Car |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Brooks / Willie Exton | Audi R8 GT3 |
| 2 | Sam Fillmore / Jonny Reid | Audi R8 GT3 |
| 3 | Scott O’Donnell / Chris White Jnr | Porsche 991 GT3 R |
Brazier and Waite Seal the South Island Title
The national podium only told part of the 3-Hour story. Glen Brazier and Andrew Waite brought their Lamborghini Huracán home in fourth, clinching enough points to add the 2026 South Island Endurance Series 3-Hour overall title to their Ruapuna win.
The pair finished the season on 177 points, ahead of Louis Nel, Chris Webley and Steve Sullivan on 143, with Brooks and Exton third on 115, testament to consistency, reliability – key attributes to endurance results.
The Nel, Webley and Sullivan combo proved a standout story of the season. Finishing second to Wei Zhou and Josh Bethune at Teretonga, the Porsche Cayman GT4 crew completed a remarkable hat-trick. The Class 3 title, Michelin Am Cup and Rookie Cup all awarded to the team.
Two class titles came down to the finest of margins. Martin and Allan Dippie won Class 1 at Teretonga, but Andy Childe and Tom Alexander retained their title on the club’s distance tie-break, having covered 98.4% of the winner’s laps at Ruapuna against the Dippies’ 95.2% at Teretonga.
In Class 5, Chris Wall and Josh Collins won on the day and took the title on fastest laps from Mark Denton and Andrew French — a second straight Class 5 crown for Wall.
| Championship | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Glen Brazier / Andrew Waite | Louis Nel / Chris Webley / Steve Sullivan | Steve Brooks / Willie Exton |
| GT Class | Glen Brazier / Andrew Waite | Steve Brooks / Willie Exton | Sam Fillmore / Jonny Reid |
| Class 1 | Andy Childe / Tom Alexander | M & A Dippie | – |
| Class 2 | Michael Nel / Taylor Bryant | – | – |
| Class 3 | Louis Nel / Chris Webley / Steve Sullivan | Russell McKenzie / Mac Templeton | Wei Zhou / Josh Bethune |
| Class 4 | Grant Askew / Cole Askew | Marco Schelp / Steve Kelly | Andy Giles / Mike Hall |
| Class 5 | Chris Wall / Josh Collins | Mark Denton / Andrew French | Warren Walker / P Sutherland |
| Michelin Am Cup | Louis Nel / Chris Webley / Steve Sullivan | Russell McKenzie / Mac Templeton | Scott O’Donnell / Chris White Jnr |
| Rookie Cup | Louis Nel / Chris Webley / Steve Sullivan | Wei Zhou / Josh Bethune | Mark Denton / Andrew French |
Michels Completes the Hat-Trick
Jordan Michels led the Class 1, 2 and 3 one-hour race from start to finish to seal a third consecutive SIERDC one-hour championship, ending the season on 280 points.
Friday dramas had been a theme of Michels’ season, and Teretonga was no different with gearbox difficulties rearing their head. The Evolution Motorsport team chipped away overnight, and the Marc II Mustang that took the green light on Saturday was, in Michels’ words, “probably the nicest car I’ve ever driven around Teretonga.”
“They just chipped away at it and gave me a rocket today.”
Jordan Michels
Michels was quick to credit the crew who had worked on the car over the past six weeks. Asked whether fans might see him racing in the North Island, he laughed: “I think I might have burned them all out the last six weeks.”
Second place went to Steve Brooks and Hugo Allan aboard Brooks’ Porsche 992 GT3 Cup. Inaugural GR86 series champion Allan got the call-up to race only that week, his first crack in Porsche GT machinery. He thanked Brooks for the opportunity, noting how few young drivers get this sort of drive extended to them.
Brooks meanwhile, reckoned there were at least 25 992 Cup Cars in the country, but not enough owners giving young talent a shot behind the wheel. “They’re all quicker than me now,” he joked, before offering advice for Ollie Gibbons after the young Porsche pilot found the kitty litter at Turn 1 with Brooks in pursuit. Brooks had done the same during quali, with both Porsche pedalers knowing how deep is too deep.
Wei Zhou and Josh Bethune completed the overall podium in their McLaren Artura GT4. Zhou handed over in fourth before Bethune put the hammer down to claim third, sealing a perfect three-from-three in Class 3 and second in the overall championship.
“It’s a Class 3 weapon, but unfortunately we can’t take it to the big boys.”
Josh Bethune
Blake Knowles took Class 2 honours and fourth overall with the older 997 model GT3 Cup, while Michael Nel and Taylor Bryant’s third in class was enough to secure the Class 2 title.
| Championship | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Jordan Michels | Wei Zhou / Josh Bethune | Garry Derrick |
| Class 1 | Jordan Michels | Garry Derrick | Russell McKenzie |
| Class 2 | Michael Nel / Taylor Bryant | Nick Wright | Blake Knowles |
| Class 3 | Wei Zhou / Josh Bethune | David Rogers | Michael Bushell |
Black and White Break Records as Ming Takes the Crown
Warren Black won the Class 4 and 5 one-hour race in his Audi RS3 TCR, making it two wins from two starts and setting a new Teretonga race record of 57 laps, smashing his own 55-lap mark from 2024.
Black built a strong lead early on, but the gap narrowed in the closing stages as Chris White Jnr took over from Scott O’Donnell in the Hyundai. “I knew he was coming,” Black admitted, “but at least I finished with all four doors attached this time,” alluding to an incident at Ruapuna.
The O’Donnell/White pairing would take second, despite an extended pit stop costing them to the tune of 21 seconds. Once in the car, White’s pace was scintillating, pulling around 2 seconds a lap from Black’s lead. Despite not being able to overhaul the Audi, White posted a new Class 4 and 5 lap record of 59.741 along the way, beating Blake Knowles’ 59.936 from 2024 (in the same Hyundai i30N).
“Five more laps should have had it, but hey, that’s motor racing.”
Scott O’Donnell
Mike Hall completed the podium in his VW Golf TCR, despite a side window flapping loose and eventually disappearing altogether. Hall took it in his stride, describing the missing glass as “a little bit extra aircon.”
Zach Ming finished fourth, enough to seal the overall and Class 4 championships on 239 points. Warren Walker took the Class 5 win and a perfect three from three, finishing second in the overall Class 4 and 5 standings. Black’s two wins lifted him to third overall, despite his absence at Round 1.
| Championship | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Zach Ming | Warren Walker | Warren Black |
| Class 4 | Zach Ming | Mal Walters | Warren Black |
| Class 5 | Warren Walker | Andrew Bartlett / Andrew Kitching | – |
Watch Round 3 in Full
Round 3 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 south to Teretonga, and all season long, along with the visiting teams who helped make the New Zealand Endurance Championship round such a strong field.
Thanks also to Michelin Motorsport, title sponsor of Round 3, and to our 2026 partners Signbase, Harris Race Radios, Canyon Brewing and ProSport Auto, whose backing made the season happen.
That’s a wrap on 2026. Want to be on the grid next year? Join the 2027 waitlist and we’ll be in touch the moment entries open.
Final championship standings for every class are on the points table.
Photography: Richard Opie
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