Smith, 79, to bring up grand prix half-century
Kiwi motor racing legend Kenny Smith will line up for his 50th New Zealand Grand Prix in the 66th running of the event at Hampton Downs in January.
Smith – a three-time winner of the race – continues to defy his age as he mixes it season after season.
The 79-year-old is the first confirmed entry into the 2021 New Zealand Grand Prix but he is adamant he’s not hanging in there just to rack up numbers.
‘‘It is exciting. I don’t do things for numbers but people relate to that number,’’ Smith said of his 50th start.
‘‘It is 63 years this season in January without missing a season and we have done most GPS. I just love motor racing.’’
He has no idea when it will stop. ‘‘It was like when I got to 30 years of driving and I thought I would carry on and get to 35 and then when I got there I thought I would get to 40,’’ Smith said.
‘‘Now it is up to 63 but it just keeps going because of a love of the sport. Most people would have got bored of it by now but not me.’’
The New Zealand Grand Prix has featured some of the all-time greats of the sport. Smith has been a witness to most of that history firsthand.
‘‘The best one was the first one I won in 1976 in a Formula 5000 – that was a very special one for me,’’ he said.
‘‘The earlier days was the privilege of running in the Grand Prix with Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham and all those overseas drivers plus [Bruce] Mclaren, [Denny] Hulme, [Chris] Amon – they were a thrill to be running with those guys and they were the best in the world in those days.’’
While Smith was part of the famous golden era of Kiwi motorsport in the 1960s and 1970s, he has also competed and helped nurture the current crop of Kiwi stars.
Scott Dixon, Brendon Hartley, Mitch Evans and Liam Lawson all raced against Smith and had his advice and assistance throughout their formative years.
‘‘The kids today are magic,’’ he said.
‘‘A lot of these kids are 16 or 17 and you wonder how they’ve got it but they are there. aren’t they?’’
Smith will race one of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series’ new generation FT60 cars at Hampton Downs and is realistic about his chances against a younger field.
‘‘The reason I’m doing it is that I just love driving. I have no expectations but we could hassle one or two of them,’’ he said.
‘‘I am 79 now and I haven’t lost the edge or the speed. If we ran Formula 5000 cars for the Grand Prix and you dragged those other kids in, I am sure I could win the race.’’
Smith’s 50th event will be the first time the Grand Prix has been held at the North Waikato circuit.
The Motorsport New Zealandsanctioned event will run from January 22-24.
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Ten years after Ricki Herbert guided the All Whites to an undefeated World Cup campaign in South Africa, his son Kale Herbert is beginning to make his mark as a coach on the national stage.
The 28-year-old is into his second season with ISPS Handa Men’s Premiership club Hamilton Wanderers after succeeding his father as head coach midway through the 2019-20 season.
Hamilton Wanderers have made a fast start to the 2020-21 national league season, beating Hawke’s Bay United, Auckland City and Canterbury United to sit top of the table after the first three rounds.
‘‘It was obviously a bit of a shock that dad had decided to step away but we had spoken openly about that at some stage I’d take over, but in my mind that was always two-three years down the line,’’ Kale Herbert said.
‘‘It’s not something I thought
I’d be doing when I was at school but now that I’m in it – I’m fortunate the club is very supportive of what I’m doing – the next for me to be would be to win the national league.’’
Herbert junior said he never set out to become a professional football coach like his father, he just fell into it after helping out at the Ricki Herbert Football Academy after school and during the holidays.
He was 17 and captain of the Wellington College First XI at the time of the 2010 World Cup, but Herbert travelled to South Africa to cheer on the All Whites and to support his dad at the height of his coaching career.
Against all odds, New Zealand drew against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay to finish as the only unbeaten team at the tournament.
Herbert said he was immensely proud of what his father had achieved on the biggest stage of them all.
‘‘Being able to go into the camp
‘‘I’ve got the benchmark to beat – the only All Whites group to go unbeaten at aworld Cup. It’s a tough one.’’
Kale Herbert on father Ricki, former All Whites coach and see the players and be heavily involved, we weren’t just there to support – it really felt like you were part of the group. It was a pretty special time and one we still talk about today.’’
Herbert’s playing career was kicked into touch fairly early on and after a season at the helm of Taupo AFC in 2016 – his first head coaching gig – he was invited to join Ricki as the No 2 at Wanderers.
‘‘It was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,’’ he said. ‘‘It gave me the opportunity to work closer with dad in more of a professional environment. I was able to learn from him every day, which I never had that opportunity while he was coaching at the Phoenix or overseas.
‘‘It was pretty special. Not everyone can say that they coached with their old man in the national league.
‘‘We drew a line in the sand early doors and made sure nothing would cross over from football to family, and we had a really good working relationship.’’
Although Ricki stepped away from first team duties last summer, he is still the club’s football development manager and Kale Herbert said he still regularly seeks his father’s advice on football matters.
Herbert said he would love to follow in his father’s footsteps and coach New Zealand at aworld Cup one day.
But for now his focus is solely on helping Hamilton Wanderers try to win the national league in the final season of its current format before reverting to a club-based winter competition in 2021 – a feat that eluded his old man.
‘‘I’ve always joked with my mates that I want to get one up on him.
‘‘I’d also love to take an age-group team or have the opportunity to take a national team to a World Cup and try and qualify for the next round.
‘‘That’s what is driving me. I’ve got the benchmark to beat – the only All Whites group to go unbeaten at a World Cup. It’s a tough one.’’