N

ew Zealand is well and truly on top
of Australia in the latter’s premier
motorsport category. The rise of
DJR Team Penske to take up the
fight to Red Bull Holden Racing
Team has thrown the spotlight on
New Zealanders Scott McLaugh-
lin, Fabian Coulthard and reigning champion Shane van
Gisbergen, all race winners this season.
While the emergence of three fast Kiwis at the pointy
end of the Supercars standings might appear inconse-
quential, other than as a vehicle for some light-hearted
trans-Tasman banter, McLaughlin, Coulthard and van
Gisbergen are not the only New Zealanders impressing
on the world stage.
When you take a look the success of multiple IndyCar
champ Scott Dixon, World Endurance Championship
winner Brendon Hartley, Formula E racer and GP2 race
winner Mitch Evans, Le Mans 24 Hour winner Earl
Bamber, World Rally Championship ace Hayden
Paddon and the versatile and Supercars-bound
Richie Stanaway, you quickly realise how much
New Zealand talent is out there. And those
names just scratch the surface.
In a rugby-obsessed nation, motorsport
success mostly flies under the radar but
the understated achievements of Kiwi
racing drivers is steeped in history.
“I think it sort of comes back to the
fact that we are a small nation and there
is a strong desire to succeed here,” says
MotorSport New Zealand CEO Brian Budd.