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Big guns head to Hampton Downs

24 November, 2015

 

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“The new-look motor-racing season in New Zealand got off to a great start with the first Premier Motorsport event at Taupo Motorsport Park in October, before the big classes then moved on to the ITM 500 V8 Supercar event at Pukekohe.
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Over the weekend of November 28–29, the country’s major racing categories are in action once again, at the V8 Festival at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. And if the racing at the first two meetings is anything to go by, then fans who head along to the North Waikato track this Saturday or Sunday are in for a real treat.
 
The revitalized BNT NZ Touring Cars are already finding their feet as a combined class of V8 SuperTourer, TLX, and TL-spec cars, and have produced some epic encounters already, most notably the first race at Taupo, which was regarded by many as one of the country’s best touring-car races for some time. Won by former Bathurst winner Jason Bargwanna, and packed with close racing and the odd controversial incident, the series now has everything touring-car fans hoped for. It can only get better, and with a full pit lane of the racers at the upcoming Hampton Downs event, the action is set to continue.
 
Youth vs maturity is the story of the epic climax to the UDC V8 Ute Racing Series, which will be played out at Hampton Downs during the V8 Festival. After a long, competitive, closely fought, and challenging championship, either Sam ‘Bazza’ Barry or Brett ‘The Scud’ Rudd will likely lift the series crown, and for either it will be hugely well-deserved.
 
The exciting Toyota Finance 86 Championship heads to Hampton Downs for the second round of its own bigger and better 2015 series. No fewer than 16 of the good-looking rear-wheel drive racers took to the track at Pukekohe, and we should see a similar field at Hampton Downs. Close racing is guaranteed.
 
Another crowd-pleaser heading for the North Waikato is the Ssangyong Actyon Ute Racing Series, where you can see some of the brightest young stars of the future show their skills at a large race meeting. The racing is nose-to-tail and the lap times incredibly close. It’s hugely entertaining and a great showcase for those competing.
 
The two TradeZone GT grids will wow the fans over the weekend, with the awesome GT1 and GT2 machinery likely to be amongst the very fastest machines racing. With sports prototypes, old supercars on steroids, and ex-factory GT cars, the class is petrolhead heaven. GT3 and GT4 combines slightly slower ‘home-grown–type’ machinery, and whilst the grid does not have the outright speed of its big brother, it nevertheless provides big fields and very close racing.
 
The classic Kumho Pre-65s are always a very popular addition to any race meeting, and the category is back for its second Premier Motorsport event at Hampton Downs, while the NZ Sports Cars (combined with a Formula Libre element for this event) bring modern aerodynamics and technology, and are more like baby Le Mans–type cars than anything else.
 
Action on Saturday, November 28 begins at 8.30am, and on Sunday, November 29 at 8.35am. General admission is just $20 on Saturday and $30 on Sunday, with kids under 12 going free. You can buy in advance at hdticketing.co.nz, or purchase at the gate.

Breakfast of champions – Brink

17 March, 2026

Some older readers may recall the amusing late 60s advertisement for a breakfast drink using World Champion racing driver Graham Hill which was made while he was out here competing in the Tasman Series.
“Drink Brink” was the phrase, subtly altered by Graham’s characteristic lisp into “Dwink Bwinkl” which drew a grin or two.
Southland Mini racing enthusiast Howard Kingsford-Smith has preserved a little bit of Mini racing history when he re-created the “Brink Mini” some 25 years ago.
“I bought what remained of the original car and made a replica I suppose or look-a-like of the original Brink Mini from Cathy Henderson about 25 years ago,” Howard explained.

The motor car as an art form

12 March, 2026

We have certainly come a long way since the exhibition entitled 8 Automobiles, shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the autumn of 1951, the first exhibition concerned with the aesthetics of motor car design.
It was here that the often-used term ‘rolling sculpture’ was coined by curator Philip C Johnson, director of the department of architecture and design, when he said, “An automobile is a familiar 20th century artefact, and is no less worthy of being judged for its visual appeal than a building or a chair. Automobiles are hollow, rolling sculptures, and their design refinements are fascinating. We have selected cars whose details and basic design suggest that automobiles, besides being America’s most useful objects, could be a source of visual experience more enjoyable than they now are.”