Second NZ F5000 Series Round Cancelled; Organising Committee Ponders Next Move

News of the cancellation of a second classic and/or historic motor racing meeting – in this case the 2022 Taupo Historic Grand Prix one due to take place at Taupo’s Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park over the January 22-23 weekend next year – has left members of the organising committee of New Zealand’s SAS Autoparts MSC F5000 Tasman Cup historic single-seater motor racing series in something of a quandry.

When New Zealand’s most recent COVID-19 lockdown forced the organisers to cancel the first meeting which was supposed to host a round of the 2021/22 SAS Autoparts MSC series - the long-running MG Classic meeting at Feilding’s Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon in November – the members of the NZ F5000 Association committee responsible for organisiing the popular annual series agreed that the MG Car Club had done the right thing. And that with three other rounds on the 2021/22 schedule - at Taupo in late January 2022, Christchurch a fortnight later in early February, and Hampton Downs in late March, they still had - just - enough rounds and with it, geographical spread, to continue to justify calling it the 2021/22 ‘series.’

Unfortunately, early this month (December 2021) on-going issues with the changeover from the government’s original Alerts System to the new Traffic Light one, left the new owner of the circuit, Keltic Motorsport, insufficient time to put together what has quickly become the central North Island circuit’s keynote meeting and a decision was made to push the Jaguar-themed 2022 edition out a year, to 2023.

In an email to members of the NZ Formula 5000 Association, Josie Spillane, the CEO of sister circuits Highlands & Hampton Downs Motorsport Parks, and the person who (as of last Friday, December 17) is now responsible for the overall management of the Taupo circuit on behalf of new owner, Keltic Motorsport’s Scottish-born, Queensland-based motorsport entrepreneur Tony Quinn, had this to say.

“We are committed to the on-going success and growth of the (Taupo Historic) Grand Prix, however – unfortunately - due to the uncertainty around Traffic Light settings for Taupo, we were faced with making some decisions around the event for 2022 and to that end we have made the decision to move the Historic GP at Taupo featuring Jaguar out a year to January 21-22, 2023.”

Which is fine as far as ‘next season’s’ SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series goes. But with just two other rounds on the 2021/22 calendar, it leaves the NZ Formual 5000 Association with a dilemma.

“What it boils down to,’ says NZ F5000 Association committee member and spokesperson Glenn Richards says, “is do we accept the status quo, that it was always going to be difficult to put a representative series together while COVID-19 was – and still is by the look of things – running rampant through the country. Or do we stand up, say stuff you COVID-19, you’re not going to ruin what will be our 19th annual series, and look at adding an extra one or even two rounds at meetings after what was going to be into be the series’ final at Hampton Downs at the end of March.”

The SAS Autoparts MSC NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Serries is organised and run with the support of sponsors SAS Autoparts, MSC, NZ Express Transport, Bonney's Specialised Bulk Transport, Mobil Lubricants, Pacifica, Avon Tyres, Webdesign and Exide Batteries.

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