Classic cars roar into Ruapuna
The Southern Hemisphere’s premier car racing event celebrates its 30th year this weekend at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, with the return of the ever-thrilling Skope Classic.
The event offers families and car fanatics an unrivalled opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the finest and fastest classic and historic cars in New Zealand.
Walk the pits, talk to the drivers and mechanics, and then lay out a picnic in the sun to watch them race flatout around the intimidating corners of Ruapuna.
If you savour the sound of a classic V8 or miss the days when top-flight single-seater racing didn’t come with too much tech, then the Skope Classic is for you.
The event started in 1991 as a one-off, one-day meeting for racing cars that a committee had decided were ‘‘classic’’. Three decades later, the event is stronger than ever and being celebrated with a two-day meeting under the Skope Industries banner thanks to organisers at the Canterbury Car Club.
A handful of cars from 1991 remain, in particular a 1972 Elden MK8 Formula Ford and a pair of locally built late-1950s Mistral Sports cars.
Entries from 1994 include two Lotus 23B replicas and the Stanton Corvette – a car that was and still is raced by Blenheim’s Russell Greer.
Saloon and sports cars then and also now include a collection of Minis, Porsches, Ford Cortinas, Anglias and Capris, Fiats of varying makes, and the first of the Japanese cars to be deemed ‘‘classics’’, the Datsun 240Z and 1200SSS.
Of the drivers that raced at the early meetings, Bert Govan in a MK2 Jaguar, Jeremy Stace in a E-type Jaguar, Paul Tayler in a Mistral and Bryan Ashworth in a Daimler SP250 will again be on the grid.
V8 power
The V8 theme has always been popular and this year is no different with the presence of the Formula 5000 revival series and a good number of V8 muscle cars, along with those V8s that are eligible for the Open Saloon Car (OSCA) races.
The Formula 5000 cars are no strangers to Ruapuna and their era of international competition makes them a compelling reason why the Canterbury Car Club is always keen for them to return.
For six wonderful years in the 1970s, the stock block mostly 5-litre Chev-powered cars was the national single seater formula.
‘‘The cars are the stars,’’ says David Abbott of the New Zealand Formula 5000 Association.
‘‘Some of these cars have been driven by the legends of the sport. They are big, grunty vehicles that can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand out. They are hard to drive and ferociously quick. They’re way smarter than the modern GT cars even though they are 40 years old.’’
The various saloon car fields will feature a healthy number of muscle cars with entries, including three former Australian V8 Supercars along with Hugh Gardiner in his 6-litre Chev Camaro, Phil Hoffman in a 4.7-litre Shelby Mustang, Frank Ryan in a 6-litre Camaro, Roger Williams in a 6-litre Chev Monza, and Hogan Jeffs in his father’s Pre 65 category 7-litre Ford Galaxie.
❚ The Skope Classic is being held from Friday January 31 to Sunday February 2 at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, at 107 Hasketts Road, Templeton. Tickets are available from $30 online through Ticketek or from $40 at the gate.
Some of these cars have been driven by the legends of the sport. They are big, grunty vehicles that can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand out. They are hard to drive and ferociously quick.
David Abbott
NZ Formula 5000 Association