Historic Muscle Cars
Words: Steve Holmes
TPhil Noble
ogether, the Historic Muscle Cars (HMC) and Historic Saloon Cars (HSC) group is set to be one of the headline acts in what promises to be a top-quality historic tin-top line-up at the 2016 Annual MG Classic Race Meeting, to be held at Manfeild on November 11–13.
The HMC/HSC group will make its first appearance at the hugely popular and long-running MG Classic, giving race fans in the lower North Island a chance to see this very period-correct assembly of cars representing the late 1960s to early ’ 70s era of the New Zealand Saloon Car Championship, in which big V8s battled nimble small-bore machinery and some of this country’s most legendary cars and drivers made their mark.
But while HMC/HSC represents local tin-top racing of the late ’60s to early ’ 70s period, the Historic Sports Sedans and Historic Touring Cars groups will provide a taster of the New Zealand racing scene from the late 1970s to late ’80s period.
Historic Touring Cars made its MG Classic debut at the 2015 event, and was a huge hit, with an impressive collection of the wild and variable Group A and Super Touring cars that headlined touring-car racing throughout the world during the 1980s and ’90s. Meanwhile, like HMC/ HSC, Historic Sports Sedans is making its first appearance at the MG Classic.
Different as they all are, the HMC/HSC, Historic Touring Cars, and Historic Sports Sedans groups have all been working together behind the scenes to help grow and develop historic tin-top racing in New Zealand. And all three groups expect to provide race fans with plenty of quality racing, and plenty of variety in their respective races.
The HMC/HSC grid will be a neat mix of large- and smallcapacity cars, and several of the drivers have not raced at the popular Manfeild circuit before. The technical nature of the track should help bring the nimble small cars into play, as the big V8s — while more powerful — are also much heavier, with all-steel bodywork, and they run with period-correct 15-inch wheels and cross-ply tyres. It should make for some hugely entertaining racing, right throughout the field.
For more info on Historic and the 2016–’17 HMC/ HSC calendar, go to the HMC website, historicmusclecars.co.nz or the HMC online discussion forum at The Roaring Season: theroaringseason.com.