The 2024/2025 motor racing season got underway at Invercargill’s Teretonga Park in September with the traditional South Island Endurance Series races but since then there has been a slight lull in proceedings.
However, that is all about to change in a very big way because for the next few months there is plenty of tremendous motor racing to come.
The pre-Christmas meeting on the weekend of 7/8 December leads off with a raft of classes including OSCA Super Saloons, Pre 78 Classic Saloons, the South Island Formula Ford Championship, SS Cup, Pro 8 NZ, NZ6 Saloons, the 2K Cup South Island Teretonga Challenge and Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons. That is two full days of exciting racing.
International motor racing returns to the circuit at the end of January (31 January to 2 February) when the NextGen New Zealand Championship comes to the circuit. The programme will feature the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship (CTFROC) plus Summerset GT NZ, the Bridgestone GR86 Championship, the Nexen Tyre NZ Mazda Racing Series plus Pirelli Porsche.
The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship has over the years brought many drivers who have gone on to Formula 1 including Lando Norris, currently battling it out with Max Verstappen for the Formula 1 World Championship plus other current F1 drivers – Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, Franco Colapinto, Zhou Guanyu and New Zealander Liam Lawson.
Whereas that meeting brings some of the most talented up and coming young drivers from around the globe to Teretonga Park it is some of the classic cars of yesteryear that underpin the next event, the Ascot Park Hotel Classic SpeedFest over the weekend of 14-16 February. Featuring a fantastic line up including Mainland Muscle Cars, Pre 78 Classic Saloons, HVRA, Vintage Racing Cars, Classic Saloons, Sports Cars, Racing Cars, Mini 7 South, the MX5 Heritage Cup and the Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons it will provide one of the most exciting SpeedFest menus for several years.
Just one month later, over the weekend of 14-16 March, another of the club’s very popular meetings returns – Southern Thunder – with the NZ Super Trucks and Mainland Muscle Cars headlining the action. They will be supported by several classes. These include the NZ V8 Utes, making their first appearance at Teretonga Park since 2017. In the best tradition of motor racing in this part of the world the utes will bring a good old Ford versus Holden battle. Few if any of the drivers who were in the class on their last visit are still involved so a host of new personalities will line up on the grid. The MX5 Heritage Cup, Pre 65 Saloons, NZ6 Saloons, Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons and the annual One Hour race complete the programme.
The season will finish with the bi-annual George Begg Festival from 11-13 April organised and promoted by Transport World Events.
It is a sensational programme with international drivers, classic cars and wall to wall action all summer long.
Information about motor racing at Teretonga Park can be found at teretonga.org.nz or at facebook.com/southlandsportscarclub
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