HALF A CENTURY OF RACING FORMULA

The Formula Vee Association of New Zealand celebrated its 50th anniversary during its championship round at Pukekohe Park Raceway late last year. The weekend featured a special display of early race cars and loads of photos.

At the celebratory dinner on the Saturday night, there were speeches, awards, and plenty of stories of the fun had over the years. It was good to see Ivan Berry there — he was one of the drivers in 1967, the first year Formula Vee raced in New Zealand — as well as many past champions and competitors. The organization at Pukekohe was top class. Pit garages were set up with drivers’ names on signage above each space, matching umbrellas were provided by series sponsor HI-Q Components, and all the cars were spotless.

These days, the racing class is known as ‘Formula First’. The name change was made at the start of the ’98/’99 season to reflect the role that the class plays in being a transition class for young drivers typically graduating from karting to car racing. Many of the drivers who learnt their basic race craft in these air-cooled, Vwengined cars have carried on to international success, including Scott Dixon, Mitch Evans, Shane Van Gisbergen, Nick Cassidy, and Richie Stanaway, and now Liam Lawson is also making a name for himself.

While the formula has stuck to its roots, using VW engine and gearbox plus front suspension, these cars don’t sound like Beetles any more. The exhaust note is a reflection of the modified cam and plenty of cylinder-head development. It remains a relatively economic way of racing, as the cars are mechanically reliable and use road tyres that can easily last a whole season.

The concept arrived in New Zealand in the mid ’60s, when New Zealand Army officer Barry Munro built the first Formula Vee in the country. Now, the vehicles have developed into professionally presented race cars that are still true to their core philosophy.

It’s rare to see fewer than 20 of these cars face the starter, so racing is guaranteed to be close and fierce. Some even learn the hard way that not finishing a race due to over aggressiveness doesn’t earn points. Slipstreaming is one of the vital skills to learn from Formula Vee, as all the vehicles have similar power. In fact, if you are leading going into the last lap, you’re at a disadvantage and unlikely to take the win. Formula 1 can only dream of this much passing in its races.

Congratulations to New Zealand’s longestrunning motor racing formula.