Look, the date decision – you know, running the contemporary New Zealand Grand Prix race meeting at Hampton Downs on the very same weekend, Jan 23-24, 2021, as the Taupo Historic Grand Prix meeting at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, literally just down the road – still grates with me big time.
In saying that there is some good news to go with the bad. For instance, motor racing has finally been recognised for its key role in New Zealand’s sporting landscape by the Government no less – with international drivers getting the green light to travel here to compete in the 2021 Castrol Toyota Racing Series.
Confirmation was given to series owner, organiser and promotor, Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand last week following lengthy consultation and discussion with MotorSport New Zealand, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and New Zealand Immigration.
Drivers – like the other international sportsmen and women (mainly cricketers and yachties tied up with the coming America’s Cup) – will still have to quarantine for 14 days in a managed isolation hotel.
Only a limited number of exemptions will be available, and all drivers must arrive between January 3rd and 6th.
What it does though is guarantee that our top Kiwi hopes have fellow internationals to benchmark themselves up against.
It also – as MotorSport New Zealand Acting CEO Elton Goonan stresses – gives our annual summer motor racing series something of a leg-up in the credibility stakes.
“It’s great that we have been able to have the Castrol Toyota Racing Series recognised by Sport NZ and MBIE as an event that will now allow it access to the MIQ facilities.
“Being able to have some international drivers attend the shortened championship in 2021 reinforces the ability for our young star drivers to compete in a world class feeder series, ” Goonan said.
In the past this has meant some wonderful opportunities for us to see future F1 stars – the likes of Lance Stroll, Lando Norris and Daniil Kvyat – strut their stuff.
Some famous Dad have also been attracted down under – F1 world champions Damon Hill and Nelson Piquet amongst them.
Now, I am not sure who the latest hot shots from the UK and places like Russia are. But two young guns I would like to see in FT-60s this season are from a lot closer to home – Australia!
One is 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup champion and this year’s FIA Formula 3 champion Oscar Piastri from Melbourne. The other is Jack Doohan, son of 5 x World 500cc Grand Prix world champion Mick Doohan, from Hamilton Island in Queensland, and currently, with our own Liam Lawson, a member of the crack Red Bull-backed Junior squad.
The pair could hardly have had different more contrasting 2020 seasons, Piastri winning the FIA Series title (in which Lawson, btw, finished 5th) but Doohan ending up 26th
Young Jack has a kart CV which suggests better, however, and a short, sharp intense pre-season run in the 2021 Castrol TRS could be just what the Dr ordered as he heads back to Europe for a second season in the FIA F3 series.
There is a third driver with strong ‘Aussie’ credentials who I would love to see in this year’s Castrol TRS series – and you never know, ‘she’ might already be here.
She – of course – is Jamie Chadwick, the impressive young Londoner who won the inaugural Formula W women’ series back in 2019, and who signed up some sort of promo deal with North Canterbury-based expat Aussie businessman/entrepreneur/car builder David Dicker (of Rodin track day cars fame) earlier this year.
Because the W-series was called off this year Chadwick – I would imagine – could do with some quality seat time before embarking on her title defence season, one which will see the women-only series support as many as six Grands Prix in 2021.
And what better way to limber up for such a campaign than in an FT-60 in the Castrol TRS.
Mix in the other – good, potentially great – idea of inviting local series ex-graduates like this year’s Bathurst winner Shane Van Gisbergen to join category SuperVet Ken Smith in a sort of “Special Kiwi Guest’ category and you have another equally strong crowd puller.
Smith is already entered, of course, this season’s New Zealand Grand Prix the 66th and – incredibly – the 50th Smith will start.
A three-time winner of the iconic race – the inimitable Mr Smith continues to defy his age as he mixes it with the best young talent in the world season after season.
Despite now being 79-years-of-age Smith has only recently stopped contesting the annual SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series (and then only when someone else wanted to buy his ex-Danny Ongais’s Lola T332) and is still the driver to beat (just ask circuit owner Tony Quinn!!) in the Formula Libre races he still contests on a regular basis in one of his Swift Formula Pacific cars at Hampton Downs.
As much as starting his 50th NZGP will be an achievement unmatched in professional sport, Smith is as proud of the fact that this is his 63rd consecutive season competing at a national level meaning that he has witnessed most of our sport’s great moment first-hand.
“In the earlier days,” he says,” it was a privilege to run in the Grand Prix with Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham and all those overseas drivers plus [Bruce] McLaren, [Denny] Hulme, [Chris] Amon – it was a thrill to be running with those guys and they were the best in the world in those days.”
He also has vivid memories of the first New Zealand Grand Prix he won – in 1976 in his Lola T330/332.
“That was a very special one for me, “he confirms.
Since then, of course, Smith has become known as a sort of ‘super-mentor,’ competing against but at the same time helping nurture the careers of everyone from Scott Dixon and Brendon Hartley to Liam Lawson and Tom Alexander.
Obviously, getting the chance to host the 66th NZGP is a real feather-in-the-cap for Hampton Downs – which for the first time will see the Castrol TRS field use the full 4km international format track.
Which is all well and good until the press release mentions the days, dates and – most importantly – the reason.
“The MotorSport New Zealand-sanctioned event – a joint venture by Hampton Downs and promoter Speed Works Events – will run over the weekend of January 22nd -24th with practice, qualifying and two races for drivers before the New Zealand Grand Prix itself on Sunday 24th over 28 laps of the circuit.
The earlier calendar date is designed to attract high profile New Zealand drivers still at home following the Christmas break and provide a rare opportunity to run the Grand Prix with the very best Kiwi drivers available in it.”
Really!
As if.
1/These drivers couldn’t wait another week.
2/ And you can’t tell me that the internationals who have now been given a golden opportunity to jet down and join the series are happy about giving up a week’s testing and acclimatisation at the venue to these series ‘interlopers.’
3/ Wouldn’t it have been a much better idea to run the first (of two) rounds of the 2021 Castrol TRS at Hampton Downs over the weekend of Jan 23 and 24 (on the 3.3m ‘National’ circuit) then the ‘biggie’ the NZGP meeting on the international circuit the weekend later – which just happen to be Auckland Anniversary weekend, meaning no work on Monday Feb 01 for most Supercity dwellers.
4/ Toyota has already ear-marked the weekend for its annual marque and fan festival – and what better way to showcase everything the new Toyota stands for than an NZGP race run for Toyota-engined ‘Mini F1’ cars.
Obviously. Category Manager Nicolas Caillol was putting a brave face on for the announcement press release, starting that, “the series will now work hard to secure drivers to take advantage of the (international window of) opportunity.
“We can now follow up several very serious enquiries from drivers wishing to race in the series from overseas and we will be making announcements as we confirm drivers,” he said.
“With lots of interest already from Kiwi drivers and several well-known names, fans can (also) look forward to a fascinating few weeks of driver announcements heading towards the Grand Prix and the other rounds of the championship.
Me? Like a lot of other – and when I say a lot, I’m talking in the 2-3000s – potential NZGP -goers I instead will be at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park at Taupo working the angles for the SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series as well as the organisers of the meeting who this year have Ford as their major marque sponsor.
The silly thing is the next weekend I will be at Hampton Downs enjoying the Toyota Festival – but by then the 66th NZGP will be old news…
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