NZ ‘Enduro’ Porsche Racers – Wellington & Pukekohe
A two-race international Endurance series for Touring cars began in New Zealand in 1985 with a harbour-side street race in Wellington, followed by a race at Pukekohe, near Auckland. Known to most as the Nissan-Mobil 500, the series continued until the final race was held in Wellington in 1996.
The event lived through several different types of Touring car classes from Group A/Group N through to Super Touring then to Group 3A, the class adopted by the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) and known as Super Tourers in 1994 and V8 Supercars in 1996. No race was held on 1995.
Porsche cars were eligible to race in Endurance races for only a short window – from 1991 until 1993 inclusive. A total of 13 drivers raced Porsche cars in Endurance races on the streets of Wellington and on the race track at Pukekohe. The list of drivers in alphabetical order is as follows:- Nigel Arkell, Bruno Eichmann (Switzerland), Owen Evans, Bill Farmer, Vic Ferguson (UK), Bill Fulford, Ross Heffernan, Grant Liston, Mark Lyon, Gray Mathias, Brian Peace, Dave Slater and Ray Williams.
In the 1992 series, with a third and fifth place in the two races, Owen Evans and Bill Farmer finished in equal third overall position.
In 1993, Owen Evans and Bruno Eichmann (Switzerland) scored a fine 1st place in Wellington and a 2nd at Pukekohe to take overall first place in the series. Nigel Arkell and Ross Heffernan took a 2nd at Wellington and 3rd at Pukekohe to finish 2nd overall. And, Bill Fulford and Bill Farmer took a 3rd and a 4th to be 3rd overall. Porsche cars scooped the pool in 1993 and, it seems, were not asked back after that!
Individual results by year are as follows:
1991
1 Dec 91 – Nissan Mobil 500. 42 cars started. 1st Emanuele Pirro/Joachim Winkelhock BMW M3 Sport Evo 144 laps
7th/1st in Class B Porsche 911 – Nigel Arkell/David Slater 132 laps
9th/2nd in Class B Porsche 911 – Owen Evans/Bill Farmer 130 laps
DNF Porsche 944S 2479cc Vic Ferguson UK/Ray Williams
8 Dec 91 Pukekohe Nissan Mobil 300 -1st Jim Richards/Mark Skaiffe Nissan Skyline GT-R 130 laps
11th/1st in Class B Porsche 944S 2479cc Vic Ferguson UK/Ray Williams/Brian Peace 113 laps
22nd/4th in Class B #29 Valvoline Oils 911 Carrera RS Nigel Arkell/Dave Slater 97 laps
DNF #7 Evans European Porsche 911 3.0 RS 3200cc Bill Farmer/Owen Evans 12 laps
1992 –
Owen Evans/Bill Farmer Porsche 911 RS finished third equal in the two-race series
6 Dec 92 – Nissan Mobil 500 Wellington. 39 starters. 1st Longhurst/Morris BMW M3 Evo 146 laps
3rd/1st in Class #7 Evans European Porsche 911 RS 2994 cc Owen Evans/Bill Farmer 136 laps
5th/2nd in Class #15 Mission Corporation Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2994cc Mark Lyon/Brian Peace/David Slater 132 laps
7th/3rd in Class #14 Lighting Discounter Porsche 911Carrera RS 2687cc Bill Fulford/Grant Liston 130 laps
13 Dec 92 Nissan Mobil 500 Pukekohe. 35 starters. 1stPirro/Winkelhock BMW M3 Evo 130 laps
5th/1st in Class #7 Evans European Porsche 911RS 2994cc Owen Evans/Bill Farmer 119 laps
8th/2nd in Class #15 Mission Corp. Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2994cc Mark Lyon/Brian Peace 115 laps
DNF #14 Lighting Discounter Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2687cc Bill Fulford/Grant Liston 95 laps
1993 –
Overall positions in the two-race series:-
1st Owen Evans/Bruno Eichmann (Switzerland) Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3600cc
2nd Nigel Arkell/Ross Heffernan Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3600cc
3rd Bill Fulford/Bill Farmer Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3600cc
5 Dec 93 – Nissan Mobil 500 Wellington. 27 Starters. 1st Owen Evans/Bruno Eichmann Porsche 911 Carrera RS 134 laps
-1st/1st in Class #11 ‘Lighting Direct/Evans European’ Owen Evans/Bruno Eichmann 1991 Porsche 911 RS 3600cc – Qualified 3rd of 27 cars. Race time of 4 hours 0 mins.55.54 secs. 2nd fastest lap 1min 37.89 seconds
-2nd/2nd in Class #15 IPC Computers/Rogers Boatshop Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3600cc Nigel Arkell/Ross Heffernan 133 laps
-3rd/3rd in Class #9 Lighting Direct/Evans European 1991 Porsche 911 RS 3600cc Bill Fulford/Bill Farmer 132 laps
-DNF #12 Lighting Direct Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2900cc Gray Mathias/Grant Liston 65 laps
12 Dec 93 Nissan Mobil 300 Pukekohe. 1st Radisich/Seaton Ford Mondeo 107 laps. 1 Hr 56.26 min
-2nd/1st in Class #11 Lighting Direct/Evans European 1991 Porsche 911 RS 3600cc 103 laps
-3rd/2nd in Class #15 IPC Computers/Rogers Boatshop Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3600 Nigel Arkell/Ross Heffernan 102 laps
-4th/3rd in Class #9 Lighting Direct/Evans European Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3600cc Bill Fulford/Bill Farmer 100 laps
-5th/4th in Class #12 Lighting Direct Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2900cc Gray Mathias/Grant Liston 100 laps
1994 Porsche cars were not eligible for the Super Touring Car class at the Endurance races held at Wellington in 1994. Two shorter races were held and won by: – Race 1 Tim Harvey BMW 318I, Race 2 Winkelhock 318I. There were no races at Pukekohe in 1994.
Porsche cars competed in the ‘Sports & GT’ 1-hour support races in 1994. Owen Evans and Ralf Kelleners in their Lighting Direct Porsche RSR 3.8 won both the Wellington and Pukekohe races and this took the series win. Bill Fulford and Craig Simmiss took second place in their Lighting Direct RSR 3.8 and Ash Stichbury and Andy McElrea took third in their Lighting Direct Carrera RS. At Wellington, Greg Murphy and Gary Mathias took 4th in their Carrera RS Cup and Andrew Bagnall and Grant Liston were 5th in their Carrera RS Cup.
1995 – Although the race at Wellington had been scheduled, it was cancelled. There was no race at Pukekohe
1996 – there were three shorter non-championship races for cars of the Australian Touring Car class at Wellington for this, the final year, of racing in the Capital . The overall win was taken by John Bowe in a Ford Falcon EF
Porsche cars competed in the Sports & GT support races.
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