Invercargill driver Liam MacDonald has his sights set on the championship when he and the MacDonald Racing Team contest the final round of the 2016/2017 BNT NZ Touring Car Class 2 Championship at Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park in North Waikato this weekend.
The 19-year-old Southlander has won four of the five rounds to date and has been the first to greet the chequered flag in eleven of the fifteen races. Just three races remain this weekend and MacDonald says, “I need to finish all the races and keep out of trouble.” However he is under no illusions as to the tough nature of motor racing and quickly adds,
“I will still take the same approach and give it my all.” Adding to the challenge of sealing the championship is the fact that he has never raced at Hampton Downs before. “It is my first time there. I have been studying it, watching and getting some tips. I am looking forward to it,” he says.
The team will head north a few days early to prepare the GT Radial NZ Falcon which has been in the North Island since the previous round at Manfeild last month.
MacDonald will mark another milestone when he lines up for the first race of the round on Saturday. It will be just his 50th race start at this level. While this season has been his first full season at national championship level he has made sporadic appearances over the last few seasons, taking in two or three rounds a year. During those infrequent appearances he managed to rack up an impressive number of podiums, race wins and round wins. Now after his first full season he is on the verge of sealing the title.
MacDonald is tackling the 2016/2017 BNT NZ Touring Car Championship with the support of GT Radial NZ, Million Dollar Cruise Queenstown, Classic Car Warehouse Invercargill, Advanti Racing and YHI NZ, Ideal Electrical, BNT NZ, Auto Windscreen Replacement Ltd, Southern Bolts & Fasteners, Auto Fab, NAC Insurance, Speedy Signs Invercargill, Derek Orr Auto Refinisher, Southern Probuilt Engines, DAL Photographics, Discount Tyres Invercargill and Sport Scholarships with the Community Trust of Southland and the ILT Foundation.