Packed GP Support Card is all Class, and Speed
The 66th New Zealand Grand Prix weekend will provide fans with action from dawn to dusk on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th.
And there’s literally something for everyone whatever their taste in motorsport - or cars - with no fewer than nine fields of some of the country’s best racing cars and drivers out to make the most of the very special occasion.
Those categories include NAPA Central Muscle Cars - arguably the best historic muscle car field in the world - BNT V8s, RYCO 24•7 V8 Utes, Hi-Q Components Formula First, the NEXEN Tyre Mazda Racing Series, TradeZone GTRNZ, Motul Cup Hondas and the fiercely competitive Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship.
The big V8s are out in force and a real highlight will be the NAPA Muscle Car field which will include Kiwi racing icon Angus Fogg in his fabulous black and gold flame spitting JA Russell Boss Mustang. On and off the track Angus is a crowd favourite and he’s still the one to watch in this championship despite being in his 26th racing season. After a disastrous first round, he got back into his stride in the second round at Pukekohe and this weekend will be looking to get himself back at the sharp end of the points table. The muscle cars are one of the jewels in the crown of New Zealand motorsport and are truly fabulous machines encompassing everything that is good about Kiwi engineering excellence. With some of the cars punching out 800 plus horsepower, the races have to be seen and heard - to be believed.
The V8 theme continues with the BNT V8s and the RYCO 24•7 V8 Utes.
Tim Edgell leads the pack in his Holden in the BNT field while another veteran of NZ racing, Paul Manuell, is the current V8 Ute champion and leads this season’s title chase after utterly dominating the first round. There’s even more class in the Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship too. Multiple V8 racing champion Simon Evans is racing in NZ this season after winning the Jaguar e-Pace international title last year. He’ll be the benchmark for everyone to beat in the class but will have his work cut out against the likes of up and comers like Rowan Shepherd, Brock Gilchrist and Ryan Wood. Watch out too for one of our best female racers, Christina Orr-West, racing in a two car Dayle ITM team with Ronan Murphy, son of racing legend Greg. A fifteen car field for this opening round should provide plenty of action.
The single seater racers of tomorrow are represented in the country’s longest standing racing category, Formula First, which has been a part of the racing scene for fifty years and more and has seen the likes of Scott Dixon, Shane van Gisbergen, Nick Cassidy, Mitch Evans and Liam Lawson graduate from its ranks over the years.
This year it’s another Liam, Liam Foster, who is looking to be the next big thing but he’s got to catch points leader Chris Symon first. These cars are some of the most closely matched and expect to see slipstreaming battles all the way around the long Hampton Downs track with cars three, four and sometimes more abreast as they vie for the best position to slingshot across the finish line. The saloon car community is well represented too, with Mazdas and Hondas both on the card for the weekend. Simon Baker is the man with form in the NEXEN Tyre Mazda Racing Series while Steve Hughes is the narrow points leader in the Motul Honda Cup, holding a slight advantage over veteran Greg Spark heading into what is Round 3 of this season.
For sheer variety, speed and ingenuity, last but not least on the card are the two grids of the TradeZone GTRNZ club. The Gt1/2 field boasts some of the fastest cars in the country, including Le Mans style prototypes from the USA and home modified ex V8 Supercars. The GT3/4 field is a little more sedate and boasts one of the most diverse grids in Kiwi racing.