The 2014 New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing (NZFMR) celebrating Ferrari will be just one element of a very busy Historic Racing Club stand at the forthcoming Speedshow event which runs at the ASB Showgrounds on July 20 and 21.
The Speedshow is the biggest motorsport, car and motorcycle car show event in New Zealand and according to NZFMR Chairman Jim Barclay, the perfect way to get revved up nice and early for the country‘s biggest historic motor sport events.
"The Ferrari Festival to be held in January 2014 is now gaining real momentum and we have a number of initiatives and ideas about the event to reveal over the coming months. Speedshow is not only a great place for the HRC and NZFMR circuit partner Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, it is also a great way to kick off the Ferrari Festival marketing campaign for 2014,” he says.
“Accordingly, and with a Ferrari theme, we have a sensational car on display – a current Ferrari 430 Challenge car owned by Sandro Zanforlini of Forzaworks NZ.”
The NZFMR Ferrari Festival will have the usual world class field of historic racing cars competing in up to nine different categories, as well as Ferrari themed demonstration runs, displays, competitions and events over the back-to-back weekends in 2014 of January 17-19 and 24-26.
The event has already established itself as the premier historic racing event in New Zealand and attracts increasing numbers of domestic and international competitors and cars. The Ferrari celebration follows McLaren, BMW, Amon and Hulme themed events.
Planned initiatives for the 2014 event include a demonstration of Ferrari F1 cars from the mighty 1980s turbocharged era of Formula One and given the lack of racing Ferraris in the country, a record attempt for the most Ferraris gathered in one place in NZ is on the cards to ensure that there is a healthy turnout of the appropriate machinery to accompany the on-track action. As well as  cars, organisers of the Festival are also hoping to secure the presence of notable Ferrari drivers, and Kiwi legend Chris Amon should be among the guests.
The Festival provides the biggest grids in the world in terms of Formula 5000 cars and they will again feature at the event, with racing legend Ken Smith still going strong in his Lola. Other classes of historical single seater classes and saloons will also feature again, with many of those cars boasting proud and important histories.