Power and pedigree lead the pack
Among those celebrating at the the Skope 30th will be the Open Saloon Car Association (OSCA), which is marking its 50th anniversary at the three-day event starting Friday.
The OSCA has at times flourished and struggled but importantly has survived the test of time, remaining as relevant now as it was when formed in
1970 when saloon car racing at the national level found itself in turmoil and destruction.
In its early years, the frontrunning OSCA cars were crowdpleasing V8s. The association had a run of champions that were all prominent names on the national scene, including Inky Tulloch, Trevor Crowe, John Osborne, Avon Hyde, Clyde Collins, Brett Willis and Rod McElrea.
The early rules governing the class have changed with the times, particularly with the introduction of turbo-charged engines.
For OSCA’s birthday meeting, it is anticipated about 25 cars will line up. Some will not have raced for years. Among the contenders will be the winning
MK1 Ford Escort turbo of Michael Johnston, a car that has been restored and is being driven by new owner Nick Donaldson.
Running as an invitee is a
5-litre Alfa Alfetta. This car, now piloted by a former national V8 champion Angus Fogg, raced against the OSCA contingent on their trips to the North Island in the late 1970s and 80s.
Vintage
The Vintage Car Club presence has largely been the glue at classic racing meets over the past 30 years.
The cars from this club that will be seen racing or on static or track display helped form the foundation of motorsport activity in the South Island. Some are mainly original and some are replicas.
Perhaps the most noteworthy to attend the Skope Classic this weekend are Ralph Smith with a 1955 Lycoming Special, Russell
Greer with a 1959 Stanton Corvette, Ramon Farmer in a MK1 Ransley Riley, and Mark McFadden in a 1949 260M Zephyr special.
The Lycoming is widely regarded as New Zealand’s most successful special.
The Corvette, built in Christchurch by the Stanton brothers, was a noted performer on the national sports car racing scene of the 1960s, while the Ransley Riley, built by father and son Don and Ernie Ransley, was third in the feature race at the first meeting on the Wigram airfield circuit in 1949.
Other examples of special note in the vintage category are the Lotus 23B replicas of Rob Cope Williams and Mark Barrett, Paul Rogers in his 1961 Lotus 20, Peter Leversedge with a 1949 Stuart Special, Russ Haines in a 1965 Holden powered Frangapelli and the Mistral sports cars of John McDonagh and Paul Tayler.
Big names
Adding to the significance of the weekend will be the presence of a handful of noted drivers. This includes seven-time Bathurst winner Jim Richards; his son and five-time Bathurst winner Steven along with his son Clay; the 1993 and 1994 World Touring Car Cup winner Paul Radisich; and fourtime Bathurst winner Greg Murphy.
Jim and Steven along with Radisich and Murphy will drive in the Historic Touring Car races, while Clay Richards will compete in the Formula Libre category. Jim will drive an Australian Group C 1984 BMW 635, Steven a Volvo S40, Radisich a 1994 Ford Mondeo (a car similar to that he drove in his World Cup victories) and Murphy a BMW M3.
Historic Touring
More than 20 entries have been received for the Historic Touring Cars.
In addition to the drivers named above, entries of note include Stu Rogers with his beautiful 1990 Nissan Skyline GTR replica, Allan Dippie in a 1985 Group A Rover Vitesse and Brett Stevens in a 1986 Group A Ford Cosworth Sierra.
The entry in this class also includes eight BMWs from various racing pedigrees of their time.
Varied field
If it is not a Formula 5000 and it is a single seater or an open top sports car, then welcome to Formula Libre at Skope.
The grid consists of various racing formulas that have been around the world at various times. The most popular in the field will be many examples of the nimble Formula Ford.
The oldest Formula Ford in the field is Keith Cowan’s 1970 Johnson. Local man Johnnie and his son Bob built nine of these over a 10-year period. In addition to Cowan, four other Johnsons will be in the line up. Open top
The open top sports cars will see a selection of Lotus 7 and Mallochs along with the Rubarb
3. This is a New Zealand-built car that dates back to the now defunct New Zealand Sports Car championship of the 1960s.
Sports and GT cars of various descriptions, both exotic and purpose-built with open tops, will be included in the closest category of relevance.
The most common of these are Porsche, which will feature Brent Jones’ immaculate 1972
911 RSR through to the modern day-future classics.
Family fun
While the major attraction is the wonderful array of cars, the Skope Classic is also designed for families. Pit entry comes at no extra charge and spectators are welcome to mingle among the cars and their drivers. For the younger family members there will be a large tent with more activities and entertainment than ever before.