This year’s New Zealand GR86 champion Chris White will make his return to Monochrome GT4 Australia, with the Kiwi securing a fully-funded three-round campaign as part of a special title-winning prize.
Having gained the opportunity through a standout campaign in the New Zealand Toyota GR86 Championship, where he secured the title earlier this month at Taupo, White will contest Rounds Two to Four with Garth Walden Racing in the team’s GR Supra GT4 EVO2 alongside Daniel Frougas in the highly competitive Silver Class.
The rising star from Christchurch went into the season finale on top of the standings before eventually sealing the deal. Heading into the final weekend as championship leader, the 18-year-old delivered when it mattered most, sealing the crown with a composed drive in the second and final race of the weather-affected round.
The prize – a half-season program in one of Australia’s most competitive GT categories – arrives at an ideal time for White, who continues to build momentum in his transition from one-make racing into high-performance GT machinery.
Running in Monochrome GT4 Australia won’t be unfamiliar territory for the 18-year-old, who made his debut last year at Queensland Raceway with Tony Quinn as part of the motorsport stalwart’s rising star program.
Together in the Game Over GR Supra GT4 EVO2, White and Quinn picked up a Silver-Am class podium in the opening race before backing up their performances with fourth place in the second outing – and enjoyed a memorable weekend against a highly competitive field for the duo.
The pair then teamed up again at The Bend later in the year, where they secured a class fourth-place finish in the second outing of the event.
Now, White will re-enter the category with the newfound confidence of having another title behind him, adding to the already rapid rise in his career which saw him secure plenty of silverware in the Mazda Pro8 NZ category and GR86 Championship.
“It’s probably one of the best prizes I could ask for as it’s three funded rounds in such a competitive series and I’ve done two of the tracks I’ll be racing at already,” White said.
“So I feel it’s a good way to kick-start my career in Australia.”
“The prize is definitely a good step forward in the direction I want to go - GT4 Australia - and it’s also in a GR Supra GT4 EVO2 which keeps me in the Toyota loop.
“Winning the championship took a day or two for it to all sink in but even then it didn’t take as long as I thought mainly because I worked so hard all season for this and it was my only goal.
“I’d like to think I wanted to win the GR86 Championship probably the most out of the field because of this specific prize in the Monochrome GT4 series mainly for the fact I was lucky enough to do two rounds with Tony Quinn last year.
“I feel I really can show my speed and talent in these upcoming rounds. I know I have a lot to learn too, but I’m ready and raring to go.”
White and Frougas will have their first race together at next month’s LIQUI MOLY GT Festival at The Bend on 8-10 May, before completing the remaining two rounds together in Queensland and Darwin later this year.