Australia’s Gary Hall Jr. maintained his spot at the top of the standings at the World Driving Championship in New Zealand after Monday’s (Nov. 3) second round, with Canada’s James MacDonald moving up from sixth to second. Brett Beckwith, representing the U.S., was equal on points with sixth-place Santtu Raitala from Finland.
There were two WDC races Monday at the Kaikoura Trotting Club, which were won by Jaap van Rijn from the Netherlands and Michael Nimczyk of Germany.
Beckwith overcame traffic trouble in the stretch to get a third-place finish with Miki’s Courage in the second of the day’s two dashes. He was 10th in the first race after his horse made a break.
MacDonald, who won the WDC in 2017, finished second in both of the day’s events.
Fifteen races remain in the World Driving Championship, which after an off day Tuesday in New Zealand resumes action Wednesday at Cambridge with five dashes. Racing begins at 5 p.m. at Cambridge (11 p.m. EST Tuesday in the U.S.).
Following the races at Cambridge, the WDC goes to Addington on Nov. 7 and Winton on Nov. 9 before concluding with a single race back at Addington on Nov. 11, New Zealand Cup Day.
To watch replays of the five completed WDC races, click here.
Complete information regarding the WDC can be found at the website wdc25.nz.
WORLD DRIVING CHAMPIONSHIP
Points after five of 20 races
Gary Hall Jr. (Australia) – 54
James MacDonald (Canada) – 41
Giampaolo Minnucci (Italy) – 37
Michael Nimczyk (Germany) – 33
Pierre Vercruysse (France) – 32
Santtu Raitala (Finland) – 28
Brett Beckwith (USA) – 28
Jaap van Rijn (Netherlands) – 25
Blair Orange (New Zealand) – 22
Mats Djuse (Sweden) – 17