StartSelection:0000000199 EndSelection:0000011764

Greg Murphy got off to the best possible start at the first round of the BNT V8 SuperTourer series, avoiding drama on the track and an afternoon oil slick to claim all three race wins at Hampton Downs.
Murphy bagged the first and second races in style, before a superb performance in the 30 lap feature race saw him complete the treble. “I have to admit that in practice I was worried, the front of the car and the rear of the car were not connected and that did not make the car good,” he said.

“We made a few changes and this morning in qualifying we had the car working exceptionally well. It stayed like that for the rest of the day and despite oil along the racing line for most of the lap in the final race, I was still able to control the race. It’s a great start, I don’t expect it will be easy as we move into round two, but we’ve got to be happy with a start to the season like this.”

In stark contrast to Murphy, reigning champion Scott McLaughlin had a weekend to forget. After a mid-pack qualifying run, he was involved in a huge first corner incident that took six cars out in the first race. His was the worst damaged and his team spent most of the day repairing it. He started the final race, but only lasted eight laps before retiring.

Feature race winner in 2012 Ant Pedersen again shone in the solo International Motorsport car and was Murphy’s major challenger in the first two races. In the third race he was affected more than most by the oil on the track and had a huge moment late on but executed the best save of the day to keep his race alive. “I did think I was in the wall, so it was a bit of luck that it came back to me and I was able to continue.” Sixth place in the feature race netted a fine second overall for the round.

Third overall for the weekend was Richard Moore, clearly benefitting from M3 Racing’s collective sharing of expertise. At the sharp end throughout the day Moore looked fast and consistent and his third place was well-deserved.

New drivers Dominic Storey and Ashley Walsh showed great turns of speed at stages during the weekend, and will surely add a little more spice to an already exciting BNT V8 SuperTourer field. Shane van Gisbergen just got better and better and his second place in the final race was very popular with the crowd. It was good also to the old guard perform well. John McIntyre was back on form after his season ending crash at Ruapuna, taking a great third place in the feature race, finishing just a couple of seconds up on Craig Baird, who also showed huge pace in the race. Paul Manuell – the oldest racer in the field – had a strong weekend and took sixth overall for the round despite losing a lot of time in the final race.

ROUND RESULTS

1. Greg Murphy                                                                M3 Racing Holden Commodore V8ST
2. Ant Pedersen                                                               International Motorsport Ford Falcon V8ST
3. Richard Moore                                             M3 Racing Holden Commodore V8ST
4. Shane van Gisbergen                                                MPC Ford Falcon V8ST
5. John McIntyre                                              JMR Ford Falcon V8ST
6. Paul Manuell                                                 M3 Racing Holden Commodore V8ST
7. Daniel Gaunt                                                 Tasman Motorsport Ford Falcon V8ST
8. Ashley Walsh                                                MPC Holden Commodore V8ST
9. Tim Edgell                                                       Edgell Performance Racing Holden V8ST
10.André Heimgartner                                   MPC Holden Commodore V8ST

Race 1
Pole man Ant Pedersen held off a charging Greg Murphy going into the first turn but there was chaos behind the leaders as Andy Booth and Ashley Walsh clashed, sending Walsh off line and triggering some serious avoidance by the other drivers behind. In the melee that followed Craig Baird spun and Scott McLaughlin’s 2013 campaign got off to the worst possible start, with damage to the left hand side of the car ending his first race after just one corner. Also involved were Simon McLennan, Craig Baird and Simon Evans. There was no option other than a full restart but the incident left Booth, Walsh, Baird and McLaughlin all out of the running.

At the second start, Pedersen again made a clean start, leading Greg Murphy around the first lap ahead of John McIntyre and Daniel Gaunt. Paul Manuell completed lap one in fifth with Richard Moore in a good sixth. M3 Racing cars filled three of the top six places at this stage and it was about to get better as Murphy took the lead on lap three into Turn 1. Pedersen had no choice but to tuck in behind and focus on staying ahead of John McIntyre, who in turn had his mirrors full of Daniel Gaunt in the Tasman car.

Gaunt kept the pressure on last year’s Sprint Series champ, and looked quicker than McIntyre. Pressuring the Mac Attack into a mistake is not an easy task, however and on lap nine the two touched on the infield sweeper as Gaunt went for a pass, spinning McIntyre around and dropping Gaunt to fourth behind Moore.

Shane van Gisbergen moved steadily through the field – passing Tim Edgell for seventh on lap 8. This became sixth when McIntyre spun.

At the front Pedersen was not letting Murph go, staying very close as the race entered the last few laps. Nothing could stop Murphy however, and he cruised across the line to open his account for 2013.

Race 2
Greg Murphy led away from the start with Pedersen the time the man in hot pursuit. Into lap two, Ant made a great move down the inside of Murphy’s Holden into turn one as Greg went wide – getting a much cleaner line and catapulting himself into a three car length lead by turn two. The action continued with Cunningham incurring a drive through after tipping Simon McLennan around near the back of the pack.

A great race for third, fourth and fifth saw M3 team mates Richard Moore and Paul Manuell crapping with Shane van Gisbergen – the three running nose to tail. Moore’s hunt for a way by Manuell reaped a result on lap six when he made the pass. Van Gisbergen followed him through at the downhill sweeper to take fourth and Manuell began to slowly fall into the clutches of John McIntyre.

By lap 7 Manuell’s mirrors were full of the bright green JMR Ford Falcon V8ST and into turn one at the start of lap eight John was through. The attention of the crowd, however, was on Murphy, who made another error at Turn 1 allowing Richard Moore and van Gisbergen to close right up. He gathered it all up without spinning and set off after leader Pedersen, with Moore and the Giz in hot pursuit.
As the race entered the second half of its 20 laps, Pedersen established a clear and decisive lead. Moore meanwhile, increased the pressure on Murphy whose car did not look as sharp as it had in the first race.

After a period of relative calm on the track, action recommenced in style on lap 17 when a mistake by Pedersen dropped him back into the clutches of Murphy and Moore, the top three running nose to tail with three to go. Murphy wasted no time in exploiting the opportunity and passed Pedersen into next time around. That sealed his second win of the day.

Race 3
Murphy led again into the first turn, once again pushed hard by Ant Pedersen. Halfway round the lap and a bold move from Daniel Gaunt saw him lock up and cause havoc in the mid-field. Next time around Simon Evans ran wide at turn four and was collected by Mitch Cunningham as he returned to the track. Heavy contact with the wall meant instant retirement for Simon and a Safety Car for the rest.

With the race back underway, van Gisbergen was the man on the move and was quickly harrying Murphy, with Pedersen looking menacing in third. John McIntyre and Tim Edgell caught the leaders by lap seven, suggesting Murph was either in trouble or protecting his tyres. The problem was, in fact, an oil slick virtually all the way round the circuit and deposited squarely on the racing line.
Further down the field, a wretched weekend for Scott McLaughlin saw him out of the race after eight laps, scant reward for the 2012 championship winning team who had spent most of the day getting the car up and running again after its first race damage.

The man on the move behind the leaders after ten laps was Craig Baird, flying through the field and easily despatching Tim Edgell for fifth. He immediately set off after John McIntyre, the United Videos Ford V8ST the quickest car on the track at this stage of the race.

At halfway, the top four was Murphy – who had a comfortable and expanding lead – followed by van Gisbergen, Pedersen and McIntyre. Going into the second half, Pedersen put a move on SVG, who looked to have slowed and then he himself made a mistake at the downhill sweeper allowing John McIntyre to leapfrog past him and almost make it past the International Motorsport car as well. All this action was a result of the oil. The scrap between the three of them continued and on lap 21 McIntyre forced his way by, quickly followed by van Gisbergen, a move which demoted Pedersen to fourth. Shane then set back off after McIntyre. He was through to second by lap 24. Pedersen then looked to be in serious tyre trouble, falling back into the clutches of Baird and Walsh and having to perform a great save on lap 27 to keep his Ford Falcon V8ST out of the wall at Turn 3. Again, the problem was the effects of the oil, so bad that Ant thought it might even be the track surface breaking up.

Murphy meanwhile, sailed serenely on with a five second lead, well ahead of the drama. He cruised home to take his easiest win of a Hampton Downs clean sweep. Shane van Gisbergen capped a great debut weekend with a hard fought second place ahead of John McIntyre, firmly back in the mix after his big shunt at the end of 2012. Craig Baird was a superb fourth, while Ashley Webb marked himself as a definite contender with a fifth place finish ahead of Ant Pedersen.

Full results here:

http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=868113

If there’s one circuit-racing event in the country that stands out from the rest, it has to be the annual New Zealand Festival Of Motor Racing (NZFMR). Each year the event is run in recognition of some New Zealand motoring greats, such as Chris Amon, Bruce McLaren, and this year Denny Hulme.

We were lucky enough to be at Hampton Downs today as the setup for the event was taking place, and were blown away by the amount of cars already present. Apparently 300 vehicles will be racing, 70 of those vehicles coming from outside of New Zealand specifically for the event! There’s truly nothing else around like it.

Some of those 70 cars will help to make up a full grid of Formula 5000s. If you’ve never seen, or more so heard these cars under full power, you’re yet to experience one of the coolest things any motor racing fan ever can. The only other similar thing to this would be watching Top Fuel Dragsters, but unlike the dragsters that are over and done with in a few seconds, these guys keep the ground-shaking lap after lap.

Besides these, the relatively new Historic Muscle Cars class pit area was a flurry of activity, as no less than seven cars from Australia were being unloaded. Included in this was one of the coolest Pontiac Firebirds we’ve laid eyes on. But not only do these things look cool, they sounds even cooler, and on their 15-inch tyres are a great spectacle to watch.

Growing up in Wellington in the ‘80s, I used to love watching the Cosworth Sierras battling it out with the 3-series BMW’s and assorted other vehicles, which made up the grid for the annual street race. And it almost seems like all these cars are present at Hampton Downs again now for the festival. Keep in mind, these are all genuine cars too, no replicas! So it makes for a great sight just walking around the pits, let alone on the track.

There’s plenty of other classes competing at the event, including Can-Am cars, plenty of open wheelers, open BMWs and more, so there really is something for everyone.

One of the highlights from today’s setup was being able to view the newly completed McLaren trust owned McLaren M8A. While the full restoration of the car has been completed, and is flawless, a few teething problems meant the car wouldn’t run in anger. With a handful of other genuine McLaren’s around though, it wasn’t a huge loss, as there was still plenty to look at.

The festival runs not only this weekend (Jan 19-20) but also the following weekend (Jan 26-27) so make sure you head on down to check it out. Hampton Downs is a great spectator track, and even if you went just to walk around the pits, I still guarantee you it’d be money well spent!

Tickets are available at the track, and you’ll find more info at www.nzfmr.co.nz

Check out our gallery below for more pics.

The countdown is on to the country’s biggest annual historic motorsport event – the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing’s ‘Gulf Denny Hulme Festival’.

The unique-to-New Zealand format of two full weekends of racing at Hampton Downs on January 18-20 and 25-27 will this year mark the life and career of the country’s only Formula One world champion, the late Denny Hulme. It will also once again see the world’s biggest annual gathering of iconic ‘big banger’ Formula 5000 cars in action at the North Waikato race track.

The golden era of another of motor racing’s most celebrated classes – the mighty US-based Can-Am series of the sixties and seventies – will also be revived to celebrate one of the category’s biggest stars – Hulme himself. Hulme was Can-Am champion twice in 1968 and in 1970 and runner up in 1967, 1969 and 1972 while racing for legendary Kiwi driver and constructor Bruce McLaren.

Many of the big V8-powered sports cars from the heyday of the championship still run in historic racing events throughout the world and festival organisers have attracted a number of the Can- Am racers to compete for the Denny Hulme Trophy – a unique trophy that will be presented by the late 1967 Formula 1 World Champion’s wife Greeta Hulme to the winner of the nine race championship. The McLaren Trust M8A Hulme car will be demonstrating on track having competed its restoration as will a Matich SR4.

The Can-Am cars will not be the only historic V8 racing cars in action. The New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing has played host over the past three years to the world’s biggest gathering of Formula 5000 cars and these will race again in the 2013 event as will one of New Zealand’s biggest ever fields of original specification Australian, New Zealand and US V8-engined Historic Muscle Cars. The classic years of Group A racing will also be re-visited with a field of 30 plus cars travelling from all over New Zealand to take part in the event.

It’s in the international Formula Junior and Formula Three category – another class in which Hulme raced – that interest has soared, with two grids on the first of the back-to-back weekends and a full grid of 37 for the second weekend.

Festival Chairman Jim Barclay is delighted with the 44 entries from Formula Junior and Formula Three racers and car owners in Australia, Italy, New Zealand and UK. Marques confirmed so far include UK-built chassis from Brabham, Cooper, Elva, Emeryson, Gemini, Lola, Lotus; Italian-built racers from Autosud, Stanguellini, Taraschi and Volpini; Australian cars from Ausper, Donford, Elfin and Nota and the NZ-built FMZ.

Formula Junior was an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (International Sporting Commission, the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class where drivers could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles.

The idea to form the new class came from Count Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani who saw the need for a ‘first-steps’ class for single-seater racing cars for younger drivers. Kiwi legend Hulme was not the only driver with a background in the class. Jim Clark, Peter Arundell, Trevor Taylor and John Surtees were also regulars.

A very big field of 37 Historic Formula Fords will also face the starter with cars coming from Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, New Zealand and UK/Northern Ireland.

Off track, there will be a large display of some of Denny’s other race cars and vehicles, including his famous Can-Am boat and his Scania racing truck. The Red Checkers will also be in action over the second weekend of the event.

Action kicks off at 9.00am each day and more details are available at www.nzfmr.co.nz – there are still tickets available but organisers recommend purchasing in advance for Grandstand seats. General Admission tickets are available in advance or on the gate.

The New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing has announced a Family Pass for the forthcoming January Gulf NZFMR events that will celebrate the life and career of New Zealand’s only Formula One champion Denny Hulme.

The pass – available to purchase ONLY from the NZFMR web site – will cost just $60 and will provide General Admission access for up to two adults and five children Under 18 for one day on each of the two weekends – either January 18-20 or 25-27.

“Ticket sales have been going very well especially with our Early Bird offers that ended in October,” said Chairman Jim Barclay. “We have also been getting more and more requests for some sort of family pass from our feedback on Facebook and email and that’s why we are now offering a one day family pass. Fans should note, however, that it is only available from the web site and that it is only GA and not Grandstand access. However, that’s going to be fine for the family looking to make a day or weekend of it.”

A revival mini Can-Am series, and the world’s biggest annual gathering of Formula 5000 cars head the bill over both weekends of the Gulf-backed event, but there will be hundreds of interesting cars both on and off the track with a special relevance to the life and career of Denny Hulme. Static displays will include his Formula One car, his championship winning Can-Am car and even his first road car!

All tickets are available from www.nzfmr.co.nz

Resource consent enabling daily spectator numbers to be increased from 20,000 to 50,000 for major events has been approved for the Hampton Downs International motor racing circuit.

The Waikato District Council approved the Resource Consent application this week and the documentation was received by Hampton Downs management today.
“This is the start of an exciting new development phase for Hampton Downs,” said Tony Roberts, the Managing Director of the 450 acre Motorsport Park located 60km south of central Auckland.

“This is a very important day for the future of Hampton Downs as New Zealand’s premier motor racing facility” said Roberts, “This approval enables Hampton Downs to host major national and international events; and also removes the impediment that V8 Supercars said prevented it from bringing their event to New Zealand’s best race circuit.”

“Hampton Downs is just 40 minutes from the centre of Auckland City and the road is dual carriageway motorway for the entire 60kms. Already Hampton Downs has 250,000 people passing through its gates each year and 2.5 million people reside within 90 minutes of the circuit. This consent allows for the continuing development of Hampton Downs.”

Hampton Downs worked closely with the Waikato District Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency to develop practical solutions for the anticipated traffic volume at major event with up to 50,000 spectators per day.

“In particular I would like to thank Nath Pritchard and the team at Waikato District Council who provided assistance in processing this Resource Consent and the support of the New Zealand Transport Agency, who worked through the issues in a positive manner”

Parking will be available for up to 9,150 vehicles at the Motorsport Park, and to accommodate the remaining car parking demand and ensure that traffic is efficiently distributed on the roading network, park-and-ride facilities will be established at Mercer and the nearby Meremere Drag racing facility.

“This Resource Consent secures our long term future because the way is now clear for Hampton Downs to fully achieve its potential; and become a significant event centre and tourist attraction for the Auckland and Waikato regions.”

“Future development will provide significant economic benefits for both Auckland and the Waikato region.”

Construction of the Hampton Downs Motorsport Park commenced in early 2007, with the original Resource Consent authorising the establishment and operation of the Motorsport Park and the establishment of various business, industrial and rural-residential uses on and around the Motorsport Park site, including 80 apartments.

For more info check out http://www.hamptondowns.com/

The golden era of one of motor racing’s most iconic classes – the mighty US-based Can-Am series of the sixties and seventies – is set to be revived in the home country of one of the category’s biggest stars.

The New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing celebrating Denny Hulme will take place at the challenging Hampton Downs circuit over two weekends in January in 2013. Hulme was Can-Am champion twice in 1968 and in 1970 and runner up in 1967, 1969 and 1971 while racing for driver and constructor Bruce McLaren.

Many of the big V8-powered sports cars from the heyday of the championship still run in historic racing events throughout the world and festival organisers hope up to 20 of the Can- Am racers and other sports racing cars will bring their priceless machinery to race on January 18-20 and January 25-27 for the Denny Hulme Trophy – a unique cup that will be presented by the late 1967 Formula 1 World Champion’s wife Greeta Hulme to the winner of the six race championship.

The Can-Am cars will not be the only historic V8 racing cars in action. The New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing has played host over the past three years to the world’s biggest gathering of Formula 5000 cars and these will race again in the 2013 event as will a big field of Australian, New Zealand and US V8-engined Historic Muscle Cars.

On-track, the Can-Am series in 1966 was initially dominated by Lola, followed by a period from 1967-71 that became known as the ‘Bruce and Denny Show’ when the works McLaren team dominating until the Porsche 917 turbo was perfected and became almost unbeatable. Other manufacturers who raced in Can-Am included Shadow, Chaparral, BRM, March and Matich as well as household names Ferrari and Ford. But it was the list of drivers that really read like a Who’s Who of motor racing at the time.

As well as Kiwis Hulme, McLaren, Chris Amon, Howden Ganley and Graeme Lawrence, Can-Am drivers included Mario Andretti, Jack Brabham, Mark Donohue, Vic Elford, George Follmer, Peter Gethin, Dan Gurney, Jim Hall, Phil Hill, David Hobbs, Jacky Ickx, Parnelli Jones, Jackie Oliver, Sam Posey, Brian Redman, Peter Revson, Pedro Rodríguez, Swede Savage, Jody Scheckter, Jo Siffert, Jackie Stewart and John Surtees. Hollywood movie legend Paul Newman was another to grace the tracks in the mighty machines.

“At the peak of the series, Can-Am machines were the fastest racing cars in the world, quicker even than Formula One and highly innovative with a rule book that gave a virtual clean sheet of paper to the racing car designers of the time. Spectacular is really the only word that describes the cars,” said Festival of Motor Racing organiser Jim Barclay.

“Denny was one of Can-Am’s biggest names and the Denny Hulme Trophy to be presented by Greeta and her family will give every race fan in New Zealand, both old and young, the chance to go back in time and witness one of the sport’s greatest ever classes.”

Nelson’s John McIntyre overcame poor handling in the third race of the Mike Pero 250 to do just enough to win V8 SuperTourers Sprint Series title – by just two points from Jonny Reid.

Reid started way down the grid after his retirement in the second race. A gearbox change on his Herald Driven-backed International Motorsport Ford Falcon V8ST was completed in time for him to take the start, and he quickly fought his way up to seventh after the start. As McIntyre slipped back through the field with handling problems, Reid moved through and back into title contention. Seventh became sixth, then fifth and as the race entered its final stages Reid put a great move on Andre Heimgartner to take fourth.

McIntyre struggled throughout the race and after 33 laps, eighth place with Reid in fourth was the lowest he could afford to be in, and with Paul Manuell all over the JMR lead driver in the final two laps, the destination of the Sprint Series title hung in the balance. Over the last lap Manuell attacked in the Orix Holden Commodore, but McIntyre got a better exit from the downhill sweeper and took a small lead into the final corner. Manuell was quicker and attacked all the way up the hill to the line, but couldn’t get past the Blackwoods Paykel Ford Falcon.

The margin was just 0.2 seconds, but that was enough for McIntyre to take V8 SuperTourers’ first title ahead of Jonny Reid by just two points. McIntyre finished with 2021, Reid with 2019. It’s rarely closer in any racing category in the world.

While all that was being fought out midfield, Scott McLaughlin fought back from another slow getaway to win the third and final race in style – completing a clean sweep of pole positions, wins and fastest laps for MPC Team Supercheap over the Mike Pero 250 weekend. His Turn 1 pass on legend Greg Murphy oozed confidence and talent and a convenient safety car for debris on the track brought him within reach of Booth, and he passed him in style as well at Turn 2.

Booth looked set to take his maiden win in the V8 SuperTourer category after an electrifying first two laps in the AV8 Motorsport Woodstock Holden. But it was not to be. Debris repeatedly brought out safety cars however and on more than one occasion a race-winning lead evaporated. “I never want to see another safety car in my life,” he said afterwards. Second for the round was nevertheless a series best, and like MPC Supercheap, AV8 could take a lot of satisfaction from the manner in which they bounced back after a disastrous round at Manfeild.

So, as the chequered flag came down on the final sprint race of the SuperTourer’s first season, Scott McLaughlin took first, Andy Booth second, Greg Murphy a lonely third, Jonny Reid fourth, Andrew Heimgartner fifth, Ant Pedersen sixth with Andy Knight, McIntyre, Manuell and Steve Richards rounding out the top ten.

Race 3 – Mike Pero 250 – Hampton Downs June 3rd (35 laps)

1. Scott McLaughlin – MPC Supercheap Holden V8ST
2. Andy Booth – AV8 Motorsport Woodstock Holden
3. Greg Murphy – M3 Racing Mike Pero Holden V8ST
4. Jonny Reid – International Motorsport Herald Driven Ford V8ST
5. Andre Heimgartner – AV8 Motorsport Pink Batts/Superlux Holden V8ST
6. Ant Pedersen – International Motorsport Herald Driven Ford V8ST
7. Andy Knight – Knight Motorsport Gulf Oil Century Batteries Ford V8ST
8. John McIntyre – JMR Blackwoods Paykel Ford V8ST
9. Paul Manuell – M3 Racing Orix Holden V8ST
10.Steven Richards – JMR CRC Ford V8ST

Round Top Five

1. McLaughlin 720 points
2. Booth 567 points
3. Murphy 463 points
4. McIntyre 403 points
5. Heimgartner 393 points

Championship Overall after four rounds – and Sprint Championship final positions

1. John McIntyre – 2021 points
2. Jonny Reid – 2019
3. Greg Murphy – 1742
4. Andy Booth – 1651
5. Kayne Scott – 1498
6. Ant Pedersen – 1468
7. Scott McLaughlin – 1375
8. Andy Knight – 1277
9. Craig Baird – 1259
10.Steve Richards – 1226
11.Andre Heimgartner – 1198
12.Eddie Bell – 1039
13.Paul Manuell – 971
14.Richard Moore – 782
15.Fabien Coulthard – 757
16.Geoff Emery – 639
17.Colin Corkery – 293
18.Daniel Gaunt – 227
19.Angus Fogg – 170

This year’s NZ Festival of Motor Racing, held at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, celebrated the 40th anniversary of BMW motorsport in New Zealand. Spectators were treated to a visual extravaganza, with cars – many worth more than your house – racing around the track, vying for the top spot.

The F5000′s were a drawcard, as were the Group A and Historic Touring Cars of the late ’80s and ’90s (bring back memories of the Wellington Street Race, anyone?). Couple that with the first round of the Historic Muscle Cars, combined with pre-’78 saloons and GTs, and you couldn’t ask for more.

As with previous years, even patchy weather couldn’t put a damper on this two-weekend event (held 21-22 Jan and 28-29 Jan). This is one awesome event at a great venue, so make sure you get along to it next year!