Just over 15,000 people enjoyed two days of close, exciting historic car racing and associated displays and activities at the Taupō Historic GP celebrating Ford over the January 23-24 weekend.
“2021 was my second year on the organising committee for this event and I was particularly pleased that the attendance was up thirty percent on 2020 which I believe had been the biggest of the four years the Taupō Historic GP had been running up ‘til then,” said Tony Roberts, president of the Historic Racing Club and who, with Chris Watson, was one-half of the founding partnership of the Hampton Downs circuit in North Waikato.
“Chris, Jim (fellow historic racer, Jim Barclay), Richard Gee and I organised the NZ Festival of Motorsport at Hampton Downs for many years and the Taupō Historic GP has now taken its place in terms of quality and quantity of important historic racing cars, spectator numbers and general public interest,” opined Roberts.
A well as helping organise the weekend’s event, Roberts not only raced his 1969 McLaren M10A in the SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series races, he also drove the Dale Mathers/Mike Coory-entered Penske-tribute 5.7 litre 1969 Chevrolet Camaro in the 38 car Historic Muscle & Saloon Car races.
“We had a real ding-dong, nine- car battle for the lead in each race with a whole lot of early ‘70s Mk 1 Ford Escort RS1600s running all over me, the other Camaro, the GTHO Falcons and the Boss Mustangs in the corners, with us blowing them away each time we went down the long back straight. On the slowing down lap, the huge crowd on the embankment all stood up and gave us a standing ovation. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Roberts.
“The Formula F5000 racing was also great.
“Our handicap race was probably the best of the weekend even if I did get beaten by my old car!” (Toby Annabell taking the win in his ex-Roberts 1970 McLaren M10B).
“Toby drove superbly all weekend and thoroughly deserved to win the handicap race, but he couldn’t quite pass me in the feature 10 lap race,” said Roberts.
As well as the races for Historic Muscle and Saloon Cars and Formula 5000, the Taupō Historic GP event featured demonstrations of many Historic Ford racing and rally cars, and races for Formula Junior, Historic Sports Racing and other Invited Historic Cars, Historic Formula Fords, Historic Sports Sedans & Allcomers and TraNZams, plus lunch-time parades of more than 180 Fords spanning 60 years of motoring in New Zealand assembled by members of multiple Ford-Owner clubs from around the country.
