Swift rise of one-make race series

• MINI Champion switches to Swifts
• Two female drivers will join the 2009-2010 grid
• Scholarship offers valuable support for rising Kiwi race stars
• Castrol continues backing for Suzuki Swift Sport Cup Championship

The Suzuki Swift Sport Cup, the most successful one-make class in New Zealand motor racing, has been elevated to full championship status for 2009-2010.

Motorsport New Zealand has confirmed the Cup will have full championship status in the premier “tier one” summer motorsport season.

Now entering its third year, the Swift category is fast becoming the rising star of the New Zealand motorsport scene. Category head Paul Burborough says promotion to a fully-fledged championship is official recognition of the popularity and success of the close-fought competition.

The Castrol-backed category has previously raced among the more modified Production Racing cars. This year it takes over from the MINI Challenge as a championship in its own right.

In recent seasons, the MINI Challenge has had full tier one championship status but with MINI numbers dropping, the class will move into the production class for 2009-2010 and the Swifts take over their place in the premier motor race series.

Mr Burborough says grids for the Suzuki races are usually 20-strong or more, and despite the recession there is little sign of interest waning for the coming season which starts at Pukekohe on November 6-8.

As a stand-alone one-make motor racing championship, the Suzuki Sport Cup is now one of the most competitive series on the New Zealand motorsport calendar. The race-modified 1.6-litre Suzuki Swift Sport cars used in the category are affordable and identical, meaning racing is close and exciting and emphasis is placed on driver ability.

Each year, the Castrol Suzuki Sport Cup Scholarship has attracted the fastest rising talent to the series, including two-time series winner Cody McMaster and 2007-2008 scholarship winner Ben Dallas. Both Scholarship winners have confirmed their entries for this season, along with current MINI champion Craig Innes.

For the coming season, up and coming Wanganui racer Matt Gibson receives a valuable boost to his motor racing career as the recipient of the 2009 Castrol Suzuki Sport Cup Scholarship, a package worth more than $50,000.

From a start in karting at age 12, Gibson moved to Formula First at just 16. Success in this field led to several podium finishes, a class lap record at Pukekohe, and pole position at every circuit, finishing fourth in overall in the national championship last season.

Winning the coveted Castrol scholarship gives Gibson an assisted drive in the coming season's Suzuki Sport Cup Championship, boosting his profile and taking him one step closer to fulfilling his dream to become a world touring car driver.

Two-time champion and inaugural scholarship winner Cody McMaster returns to defend his past championship wins in his Winger-backed car, which was driven last year by Scott Downes. Ben Dallas, 2008-2009 Scholarship recipient, also returns to the series with the title in his sights.

Second overall in the 08-09 series, young Wanganui racer William Bamber is back, aiming to go one better in 2009-2010. Aged just 15, he is rated by many a hot favourite for this year’s championship

William is younger brother to his more famous older racing brother Earl Bamber, who has been the lead driver for the New Zealand A1GP team. The younger Bamber began his racing career in karts at the age of seven and shows every sign of developing into an equally fast driver.

Adding glamour to the grid are two keen young ladies. Samantha Bennett, from Melbourne, is the first international driver to take part in the Swift Cup - and only saw Pukekohe for the first time last month.

She is driving the ex-Richard Moore car with backing from Wingers. At 22, Samantha is keen to make a solid impression and will be joined on the grid by 19-year-old university student Katherine Collins of Christchurch. Katherine finished 13th in her inaugural season in a Suzuki last season and will be putting her experience to good use at Pukekohe.

The youngest driver this year is Palmerston North’s Bramwell King, just 13 years old. King finished second in the 2006 North Island Sprint Kart Championships, third in the 2007 New Zealand Sprint Kart series and won the 2009 Formula First United Travel Championship.

The championship races at every round of the “tier one” summer motor race series, but does not contest the stand-alone Hamilton 400 street race. The season wraps up with an endurance race at the soon to be completed Hampton Downs race track in the northern Waikato.