New Zealand racing driver Matt Halliday is again heading to Europe for back-to-back Rounds 7 and 8 of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. Round 7 will be held this coming weekend at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit as a support race for the German Formula 1 Grand Prix while Round 8 is being run at The Hungaroring (Budapest) as support to the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix the following weekend.

Both circuits will be new to the Californian based Kiwi star who has been spending time on his CXC Simulator attempting to learn and adapt to the characteristics of both tracks. Although he sees Hockenheim as having a few good overtaking locations, the Hungarian circuit will be another story with its twisty nature more risky overtaking is required.

With Halliday’s Giltrap Racing Porsche 911 GT3 regularly having excellent racing pace, early emphasis will again be on qualifying in order to obtain a high starting grid position to avoid battling past other cars while front runners establish an advantage. The MRS organisation will be busy engineering the car to the driver’s requirements but are constantly making progress- especially with the new tyre technology being used this season.

New Zealander Chris van der Drift has picked up his fourth win of the season at the Zolder circuit in Belgium on Sunday. The 24 year old Kiwi gave a superb performance in Saturday's qualifying sessions coming out of the qualifying rounds with pole position, following that up with a start to finish victory in Sunday's race one. The Olympiacos driver gained enough points in the two feature races to give himself pole for the Super Final in which he finished in second place.

Maiden pole position
The Kiwi produced a stunning Superleague Formula by Sonangol demonstration to claim his maiden pole position for Greek football club giants Olympiacos. After winning back to back Super Finals at Jarama and Nurburgring, Van der Drift topped qualifying group B dipping down under the 1.19's, over 3.5 tenths clear of his nearest rival. The New Zealander had to win his first pole position the hard way, first having to overcome second placed in the championship, Yelmer Buurman (AC Milan) in the quarter finals, then against third placed, and team-mate, Max Wissel (FC Basel) in the semi-finals.

The Waimate 50 is back.

Motorsport enthusiasts are preparing for an exciting Labour Weekend in the South Canterbury town.

The Waimate 50 was a popular street race event in the 1960s. The last event was held in 1999.

This year's event will include the Race to the White Horse, a 4km gravel sprint hill climb to the white horse monument on the hill above the town, on the Saturday.

On the Sunday, there will be a 5.6km gravel rally sprint over the top of Parkers Bush Rd, and a 1.25km sprint around the streets of Waimate, largely using parts of the original Waimate 50 circuit.

Race champions, numerous new-to-New Zealand cars and motorbikes, and many other automotive delights feature at this weekend’s automotive and motorsport expo, Speedshow.

The fourth annual Speedshow opens at 9am on Saturday 24 July at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds with top racing drivers and riders from speedway, New Zealand V8s and motocross – as well as other categories – appearing at the popular show.

Several brand-new cars and motorcycles are being unveiled or on show for Kiwi fans for the first time at this year’s Speedshow.

“Peugeot’s stunning new RCZ coupe is being revealed by Auckland Mayor, the Hon. John Banks on Saturday morning,” says Speedshow organiser Keith Sharp.