Chris Pither (born 3 December 1986) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. Pither has won eight national championships including; three New Zealand karting titles, the New Zealand Holden HQ Series in 2003 and 2004, the NZ V8 Ute Championship Series in 2010 as well as the NZ and Australian V8 Ute Racing Series in 2011.

Biography

Pither started racing in his home country, coming up through the open wheeler ranks first through the evolved

Formula Vee Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford. On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi ...

class Formula First, then

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

. After a couple of seasons racing in the one-make HQ Holden series, an impressive top five championship result in the inaugural

Toyota Racing Series The Formula Regional Oceania Championship is New Zealand's premier formula racing category. The series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. ...

led to a move to Australia and two seasons in the popular V8 Utes series. For the 2006 season, Pither joined Brad Jones Racing in the second-tier Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. A sporadic 2007 campaign, switching teams mid-season did not bring positive results, however still managed to join tail-marking main-game V8 Supercars outfit Team Kiwi Racing for four rounds during the 14-event season. After subbing for regular driver Kayne Scott at the Eastern Creek Raceway round, he then participated in a second round at the

Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. History The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 i ...

, although the results were not spectacular. The endurance races were particularly disappointing after an engine failure in practice saw Team Kiwi Racing withdraw from the L&H 500. Pither was involved in a major accident during practice for the Supercheap Auto 1000. Pither struck a stationary Paul Weel with a heavy impact at Reid Park corner, causing extensive damage to both cars and hospitalising Weel. The Falcon was miraculously repaired in time to start the race, but unfortunately was the race's first retirement. Pither parted ways with the team and he took a hiatus from racing in 2009. Pither's return to V8 Supercars would come in 2012 when he signed to drive in the endurance races with David Wall in the #21 Brad Jones Racing Commodore - a signing that would lead Pither to a full-time drive in the

Dunlop V8 Supercar Series The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Minolta V8 Supercars Series and Konica V8 Supercars/Lites Series) is an Australian touring car racing competition, specifical ...

. In late November 2015, it was announced that Pither would be driving for Super Black Racing in 2016. He left the now-defunct team at end of 2016. Pither then moved to

Erebus Motorsport Erebus Motorsport (formerly known as Erebus Racing) is an Australian motor racing team. The team competes in the Supercars Championship with two Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s. The team's current drivers are Jack ...

to co-drive alongside Dale Wood in 2017. The pair recorded a best result of 4th, which came at the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a Touring car racing, touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supe ...

. For 2018 Pither has moved to

Garry Rogers Motorsport Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the t ...

as a co-driver. In 2020, Pither signed to drive for Team Sydney by Tekno full time. Coca-Cola came onboard to sponsor him throughout the season. He drove the #22 Holden Commodore. His best finish in the season would be a 5th place at Hidden Valley. He would end the season finishing 20th in the points.

Career results

Some results sourced from:

Supercars Championship results

Bathurst 1000 results

References

External links

*
Chris Pither profile on US Racing Reference

V8 Supercars Official Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pither, Chris 1986 births New Zealand racing drivers Living people Supercars Championship drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen Sportspeople from Palmerston North V8SuperTourer drivers Australian Endurance Championship drivers Garry Rogers Motorsport drivers Nismo drivers Porsche Carrera Cup Australia drivers V8 Utes drivers TCR Australia Touring Car Series drivers