Past, present and future on show this weekend at Giltrap Group Taupo Historic GP

THE PAST, present and future of Motorsport will be on show this weekend at the annual running of the Giltrap Group Historic GP at Taupo International Motorsport Park.
It’s the third round of the Repco NextGen NZ Championship and while it’s a look back in time – thanks to classic cars and stars of the sport on show – it’s also a look forward to the stars of tomorrow at the same time.

The headlining Historic GP field will see classic Formula Atlantic machinery and cars representing two decades of Toyota Racing Series (now CTFROT) going head-to-head across the weekend.

Of note, two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Will Davison will return to his open-wheel roots, sharing Greg Murphy’s Swift Formula Atlantic this weekend as he returns to Taupo in a late deal to get some track time while in NZ.

The iconic ‘Black Beauty’, the A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport racer that saw New Zealand take on and often beat the world in the 2000s will also make a triumphant return to Taupo this weekend; original racer Jonny Reid to take the wheel at the circuit where he – and the now restored car – were winners.

Meanwhile, a car that helped launch the early stages of the Giltrap Group’s motorsport legacy – a VW Golf raced by Denny Hulme and Sir Stirling Moss – will return to the track in the hands of a third-generation Giltrap racer this weekend.

Couple that with the current stars of Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy, big fields of classic Touring Cars, GT machinery and more, it’s set to be a huge weekend on and off the circuit at the circuit just a few minutes from Taupo’s iconic lake.

Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy

FOUR races into the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy and the scene has been set for a thrilling title battle as the 19-strong grid heads to round two this weekend.

American teenager Ugo Ugochukwu leads the way having claimed two of the four races at Hampton Downs, while Kiwi talents Louis Sharp and Zack Scoular claimed the other two victories.

It was a wild weekend at Hampton Downs with several close races and a race-pausing red flag in the Dorothy Smith Memorial Cup feature race on Sunday afternoon that caused a lengthy delay, before Ugochukwu led from the restart to claim the victory.

The result is that he leads the standings over Japanese duo, Jin Nakamura and Kanato Lee, heading to Taupo.

Once again four races will be held this weekend on a circuit with markedly different conditions to the opening round – meaning the already competitive field could be up for further upsets.

The international nature of the series will be on show again at Taupo with fans supporting drivers from the 11 nations represented showing their colours – Finnish fans supporting World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanpera and Sri Lankan young-gun Yevan David in particular out in force and expected to be so again this weekend.

Formula Atlantic – Taupo Historic GP

THE Headline event of the weekend will be the Taupo Historic GP for classic open wheelers from the Formula Atlantic era, this year’s field also including a mixture of classic machinery from the different generations of the Toyota Racing Series – now CTFROT.

Defending Historic GP champion Kaleb Ngatoa returns following his crushing victory last year, though he’s likely to face stern competition from local legend Greg Murphy, who returns for a second attempt at the title aboard a Swift DB4.

Murphy will share his car with two-time Bathurst champion and former Supercars rival, Will Davison, who will return to Taupo for the first time since racing here last April in what would turn out to be his final full-time Supercars Championship season.

It’ll be a return to his roots for Davison who’s career started in open wheelers before turning to touring cars.

Cars from Swift, Ralt and March are entered as are a multitude of FT40 and FT50 ex-TRS entries.

The open wheel grid is for the first time tackling two events this summer; many set to also compete for the Tim Miles Memorial Trophy that will be staged alongside the NAPA 70th New Zealand Grand Prix at Highlands in three weeks time.

Heritage Touring Cars New Zealand

A STRONG field of nearly classic Touring Cars from the 1970s, ‘80s and 1990s are set to put on a show at the Historic GP this weekend in the Heritage Touring Cars.

From Graeme Cameron’s howling BMW M3 to the former Bathurst 1000-starting Group A Ford Mustang nicknamed ‘Lucky’, now owned by Paul Burnet, there’ll be something for Touring Car fans of all eras.

The fire-breathing Group A Ford Sierras will be represented by two cars; Andre Mortimer in his New Zealand-built 1986 model and Wayne Stables in his 1987 RS500. Grant Lee’s spectacular IMSA Datsun 280ZX will be there, as will Stephen Anderson’s stunning 1981 Mazda RX-7; a tribute car celebrating recently passed motorsport legend Allan Moffat’s history with the iconic Japanese sports car in the early 1980s.

Mark Mallard’s ex-Tim Edgell NZ V8 Ford Falcon will represent for local Touring Car fans, while Paul McCarthy’s stunning Mazda Super Tourer returns following a stint competing in the United Kingdom.

HVRA Historic Saloons

A Massive field of 32 cars representing an incredible era of Saloon Car racing from the 1960s to the 1980s will represent in the HVRA Historic Saloons this weekend.

An especially notable entry will be the completely restored 1979 Volkswagen Golf to be driven by Porsche Carrera Cup star, Marco Giltrap.

The Volkswagen was brought into New Zealand by the late Sir Colin Giltrap in 1979 and was driven by Sir Stirling Moss and the legendary Denny Hulme in the B&H 500 at Pukekohe that year. After being purchased back by the Giltrap family several years ago, it completed a thorough 20-month restoration ahead of its racing return.

The remainder of the field includes everything from Datsun 1200s to Ford Mustangs right up to a Porsche 930 – ensuring there will be something for everyone.

Euro Allcomers

A FIELD of European Sports and GT vehicles will compete across the weekend in the Euro Allcomers category for the first time at the Giltrap Group Historic GP.

Entries include Grant Aitken’s Porsche Cayman, David Crana’s McLaren 570S, NZ Porsche Championship frontrunners Nick Cutfield and Duncan McCrostie in Porsche GT3 Cup Cars and a pair of Ginetta GT4 cars, entered by Kerry and Tania Jones.

The brand-new category competes for the first time this weekend at Taupo.

BROADCAST

Action on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast live in New Zealand, Australia and around the world this weekend.

New Zealand: Live on Sky Sports NZ – 1:00pm – 5:00pm NZDT Saturday, 12:30am – 5:00pm NZDT Sunday.

Australia: Live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports

Streaming; Live streaming via the Repco NextGenNZ YouTube Channel and TOYOTA Gazoo Racing NZ YouTube Channel.

FAN ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND

THERE will be plenty of access for fans attending the event this weekend at Taupo, including the below access to pit lane and the grid – free of charge.

Public Pit Lane Walk
(Assemble behind Garage 1, pit exit end of pit lane)
Saturday – 11:50am
Sunday – 11:10am

Public Grid Walk
(Assemble behind Garage 1, pit exit end of pit lane)
Saturday – 1:00pm
Sunday 3:55pm

Signing Sessions
(In the Wade Group and NextGen NZ Paddock Club)
Saturday: 2:40-3:00pm
Sunday: 2:00-2:20pm

Demonstration Laps & Euromarque Car Show Track Laps
Saturday: 11:50am
Sunday: 11:10am