The annual Woodstock Kumeu Car Show took place over the weekend, and from what we saw it seemed to have been returned to its old glory. The showgrounds were packed with cars, trade stands, swappers and of course the public who went along to check it out.

We’ll have a full event report in our next issue, which goes on sale on Feb 13, but until then, here’s a bunch of photos from the event to check out.

Steve Horne, former boss of the 1986 Indy 500 winning team Truesports racing and CART’s Technical Committee and owner of Tasman Motorsport Groups Indy car team which enjoyed great success with the likes of Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and others, has returned home to New Zealand to pursue his already considerable interests in this country. These interests will include becoming a franchise and car owner for the inaugural 2012 V8SuperTourer Championship.

“Having already decided to spend most of our time living back here in New Zealand, my wife, and business partner, Christine, have both been keeping a close eye on what my former kiwi colleagues, Garry Pedersen, Mark Petch and others have been up to with their V8 Supertourer project” said Horne, who still manages Indycar ace Kanaan.

“Having now had the opportunity to view the car and the organisation behind it, to say that we are impressed with what is essentially down to good old Kiwi ingenuity, is an understatement. Frankly speaking it has reinvigorated our motor racing interest, which has been on the wane for some time in North America. We are both very proud to be accepted into the V8 Supertourer community with such a warm welcome, and we are genuinely very excited at the thought of once again sitting at the trackside here again in NZ and getting to renew friendships with old acquaintances and meet new friends alike.

“The cars themselves are inspirational and when you combine genuinely very fast big-engined V8 “tin top” race cars with real stars, the V8ST Series is going to be a big plus for motor racing in New Zealand. Christine and I can hardly wait to receive our first Supertourer racecar of what we plan to be eventually a two-car team.

“Whilst we have not yet finalised our driver line up, for our first car it will include a mix of raw young Kiwi talent, and for the enduros, a star Aussie import to lead our attack on the Endurance Series Championship. We may be new to V8 touring car racing, however we are an ambitious team, and intent on winning first up! So we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to hit the ground running at full speed come August next year 2012.

Paul Radisich, CEO V8ST, said “Steve Horne’s motor racing credentials are without peer here in New Zealand, and we welcome both Steve and his wife Christine to our rapidly expanding SuperTourers family with open arms. Steve will be much more than just a V8ST Team owner; he is somebody of vast experience and impeccable connections, which will be of significant benefit to the series as a whole.”

BNT V8s series leader Angus Fogg has a second goal on his mind for this weekend’s fourth round of the summer race championship season, breaking his lap record at the Timaru circuit in the Radio Sport Falcon while staying in the lead of the series.

Contested from 20 to 22 January at the Timaru International Motor Raceway, 10mins nor-west of the township, Birkenhead based Fogg and his crew will spend their second weekend in the South Island.

“It’s probably my favourite circuit – I seem to go very well there in whatever I drive,” says the 44-year-old.

“Our aim, as always, is to win all three races and would like to think we could set a new lap record this year.”

The record stands at 1min06.573 – a time Fogg set in January 2009.

“We had the car going well in the wet at Teretonga last weekend. It wasn’t quite right in the dry but after playing with the setup afterward it got better.

“If there is a bit of warmth in the track at Timaru we should be away.”

Atop the points table after three of the six rounds on the 2011/2012 calendar, Fogg has a 53 point lead over second placed Jason Bargwanna from Australia.

Having won two of last weekend’s three races, it wasn’t enough to secure the round win, missing out by a mere three points. Fogg says that was a timely reminder the competition is close and there is a long way to go.

“We’ve got an Australian intent on putting his name in our record books. They don’t like it when we beat them on their turf so our team is pretty focused on turning out a perfect car for me to keep the cup in its home country.”

Having spent the week between the back-to-back race rounds in Invercargill, Fogg and his team will arrive in Timaru late on Thursday.

He and the rest of the field have a 25 minute test session late Friday afternoon around the 2.4km Levels circuit, followed later by hot-lap rides for corporate guests.

After the Saturday morning second test session, Fogg and the Radio Sport Falcon have preliminary qualifying from 1:47pm that will decide the running order for the top-ten one-lap shootout. The first race, of 12-laps, starts at 4:15pm.

Sunday’s two races follow an early-morning shakedown session, with the first race of 12-laps starting at 12:57 and will be a reverse grid. The weekend’s final race starts at 3:51pm with a compulsory tyre change pit-stop during the 22 laps.

Fogg acknowledges his family of sponsors in his quest to win the Gold Star Saloon car title: Radio Sport, Mountshop, Hydraulink Hose & Fittings, Supercharge Batteries, Segedins Auto Spares of Dominion Road, Strapping Systems (NZ) Ltd, Moselle Panel & Paint, Tom Ryan Cartage, PPG, Affordable PartsWorld, HIAB Services, Delo, Brenics Transport Ltd, iSign it, Fromm Packaging Systems, Mason Tool & Engineering, Stainless Welding and Invercargill Oil Shop.

John McIntyre Racing has secured the race-winning talents of expat Kiwi Steven Richards to pilot the team’s second FG Falcon V8SuperTourer.

With nearly 20 years as a professional race driver and six V8 Supercar race wins – including two victories in the famous Bathurst 1000 endurance race – to his credit, Richards is the perfect fit for JMR according to team owner and driver John McIntyre.

McIntyre says he wanted a proven race winner in the second JMR FG Falcon V8SuperTourer. “With Steve we get this winning heritage plus his incredible ability and experience with a range of racecars. This will play a big part in helping JMR develop the best set-up for both race cars in the first season.

“Steve is actually a qualified aircraft maintenance engineer and then became a test driver with Nissan in the British Touring Car Championship,” notes McIntyre. “He’s won the Australian Formula Ford Championship and then enjoyed many successful years in the Australian Touring Car Championship which then became V8 Supercars. Steve raced full-time for several years with Ford Performance Racing, and like me, he’ll be racing for the team at the two key endurance events – Bathurst and Sandown – this year. That makes another good link for JMR.”

Richards says he’s really looking forward to sinking his teeth into the new challenge with JMR, which fits nicely around his commitments in the 2012 City Index Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Last season Richards established and ran the Laser Plumbing and Electrical and WesTrac-backed Porsche team to finish fourth in a very competitive season won by fellow Kiwi and V8SuperTourer racer Craig Baird.

“The V8SuperTourers Championship will bring a whole new level of professional touring car racing to New Zealand fans,” says the Melbourne-based 39-year-old.

“The concept that has been developed is exactly the right model to take touring car racing in New Zealand to the next level. These cars will be incredibly fast and will bridge the gap and prepare young Kiwi drivers who may dream of driving in Australia’s V8 Supercars Championship someday.

“The quality of drivers and teams will be second to none, and I am naturally incredibly excited to join John and his team at JMR. I’ve no doubt I can make a valued contribution to help build and develop two fast, reliable Ford Falcons that can challenge for race wins right from the outset. JMR has set the benchmark for the past five seasons of V8 racing in New Zealand so I feel pretty honoured to be stepping into their second FG Falcon V8SuperTourer.”

Richards’ first drive in a V8SuperTourer will take place today (18 January) as the team commences a three-day test at their home circuit, Taupo Motorsport Park with the #47 JMR V8SuperTourer which will be raced by McIntyre. Richards will also be able to see the V8SuperTourer that he’ll test and race in February in the team’s new race-shop at the Taupo circuit.

Richards comments: “These three days of testing give me a great opportunity to familiarise myself with the team and get a few miles in the #47 car before the official V8SuperTourer test in February. Other than racing V8 Supercars at Pukekohe and Hamilton, I haven’t done a great deal of driving in New Zealand, so it will be great to learn a few new circuits.”

McIntyre adds: “It’s fantastic to have Steve with us for our first series of test days. He’ll share the driving duties with me across the three days and provide additional vital feedback to our engineer Jason Liefting.”

For the opening V8SuperTourer round at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park over the weekend of 17 to 19 February, Richards’ FG Falcon will carry CRC branding and the number #556.

“CRC has a great heritage supporting New Zealand motor racing,” says Richards. “To carry their distinctive branding on the car is fantastic and I hope to get some strong runs on the board at the first round in recognition of CRC’s support.”

McIntyre is taking a NASCAR-style approach with the #556 car this season. “The car’s livery will change during the year with a different naming rights sponsor for each round.”

More details about McIntyre and his team can be found on www.jmr.co.nz

Booth ready to tame unique Can-Am monster

Two-time New Zealand V8 Champion Andy Booth will take a step back in time to make his Hampton Downs V8 race debut when he drives one of the country’s most important historic racing cars.

Booth, who will compete in the inaugural V8 SuperTourer series that kicks off at the Waikato track in February, will race the unique McLaren M1A/B Can Am car during the second race weekend of the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing on January 27/28/29.

The car itself – owned by historic racing enthusiast Paul Halford – represents a unique slice of Kiwi motorsport history. It was originally a customer car built for the American owner as an M1A. When the owner saw Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon go quicker in their M1B specification cars he asked Bruce to send him a M1B body so as he could fit it to his car and have the latest specification. When his request was declined, he crafted his own – and the body on the car today is the very same handmade M1B aluminium copy that was built for the car and raced all those years ago.

Booth, who has never raced the car or any other Can Am, is a huge fan of the era and is relishing the prospect of taming the 500 horsepower monster.

“I consider it a real honour to be invited to drive the M1A/B and very much see my role as one of demonstrating the car at pace to an audience of enthusiasts. It’s not about seeing just how fast it can go or putting anything at risk so I’ll be making sure there’s always enough real estate around me. At the same time though we’re not out there for a Sunday drive and people want to see and hear these things in anger. It’s noise alone is spine tingling.”

Can- Am was one of the pre-eminent series of the sixties and seventies in Canada and America (hence the Can-Am abbreviation) and the cars were noted at certain circuits to be considerably faster than Formula One cars of the same period. McLaren machines, designed and built in UK by Kiwi Bruce McLaren, were at the forefront of technical development and the championships for many years. They remain a huge draw card for generations of fans.

“Reading about the Can Am era as a kid always fascinated me,” added Booth. “The idea of completely open rules and increasingly huge horsepower was something that I thought was just awesome. Obviously the legendary domination of the McLarens was also a major fact of my interest.

“You can’t hide the overwhelming sense of history when driving a car like this but also just how much things have changed! Driving the M1A/B is a bit like sitting in half a 44 gallon drum with a 500+ horsepower V8 strapped to the back so you do feel more than a little vulnerable. But for sheer thrill power, there’s nothing like a CanAm.”

The action packed festival runs over two weekends, January 20/21/22 and 27/28/29 and has attracted more than 300 entries. It’s theme in this, its third year, is BMW Motorsport and the history of the marque in New Zealand racing events. Tickets are available online at www.nzfmr.co.nz or at the gate at Hampton Downs.

Richard Gee
Media and Communications Manager
NZ Festival of Motor Racing
Ph 0210 2711926
E richard@nzfmr.co.nz






Two-time New Zealand V8 Champion Andy Booth will take a step back in time to make his Hampton Downs V8 race debut when he drives one of the country’s most important historic racing cars.

Booth, who will compete in the inaugural V8 SuperTourer series that kicks off at the Waikato track in February, will race the unique McLaren M1A/B Can Am car during the second race weekend of the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing on January 27/28/29.

The car itself – owned by historic racing enthusiast Paul Halford – represents a unique slice of Kiwi motorsport history. It was originally a customer car built for the American owner as an M1A. When the owner saw Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon go quicker in their M1B specification cars he asked Bruce to send him a M1B body so as he could fit it to his car and have the latest specification. When his request was declined, he crafted his own – and the body on the car today is the very same handmade M1B aluminium copy that was built for the car and raced all those years ago.

Booth, who has never raced the car or any other Can Am, is a huge fan of the era and is relishing the prospect of taming the 500 horsepower monster.

“I consider it a real honour to be invited to drive the M1A/B and very much see my role as one of demonstrating the car at pace to an audience of enthusiasts. It’s not about seeing just how fast it can go or putting anything at risk so I’ll be making sure there’s always enough real estate around me. At the same time though we’re not out there for a Sunday drive and people want to see and hear these things in anger. It’s noise alone is spine tingling.”

Can- Am was one of the pre-eminent series of the sixties and seventies in Canada and America (hence the Can-Am abbreviation) and the cars were noted at certain circuits to be considerably faster than Formula One cars of the same period. McLaren machines, designed and built in UK by Kiwi Bruce McLaren, were at the forefront of technical development and the championships for many years. They remain a huge draw card for generations of fans.

“Reading about the Can Am era as a kid always fascinated me,” added Booth. “The idea of completely open rules and increasingly huge horsepower was something that I thought was just awesome. Obviously the legendary domination of the McLarens was also a major fact of my interest.

“You can’t hide the overwhelming sense of history when driving a car like this but also just how much things have changed! Driving the M1A/B is a bit like sitting in half a 44 gallon drum with a 500+ horsepower V8 strapped to the back so you do feel more than a little vulnerable. But for sheer thrill power, there’s nothing like a CanAm.”

The action packed festival runs over two weekends, January 20/21/22 and 27/28/29 and has attracted more than 300 entries. It’s theme in this, its third year, is BMW Motorsport and the history of the marque in New Zealand racing events. Tickets are available online at www.nzfmr.co.nz









The Bruce McLaren Scrapbook: A Pictorial Celebration of a Kiwi Legend is one of the most informative yet easy to digest biography’s of any New Zealander you’ll find. Compiled by Jan McLaren and Richard Becht, the book includes over 600 photos, newspaper cuttings, letters and other images relating to the life of Bruce McLaren. The end result is a stunning, comprehensive collection of memories and memorabilia from his family archives. From the moment he became the youngest man in history to win a Formula 1 race through to today, millions of words have been written about him. Yet if McLaren’s life story has been told many times over, so much of it hasn’t, until now. The Bruce McLaren Scrapbook, is in essence a pictorial anthology, walking through the extraordinary 32 years of his existence, and a must-have for any New Zealand motorsport fan.

If this sounds like something you would want to win, simply answer this question: Who did the compilation of this book?. Competition closes on January 31, 2012

To enter in the competition, click here

Where: Good bookstores nationwide
RRP: $59.99
More info: www.harpercollins.co.nz