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Motorsport media and SpeedSport nostalgia.

06/01/2026

WESTERN SPRINGS SPEEDWAY HISTORY - 1996
30 years ago today Western Springs Speedway was a successful hunting ground for the visiting United States midget car drivers.

Run over five nights, the US quartet of Sleepy Tripp, Jimmy Sills, Tony Elliott and Dave Darland overhauled the Kiwi team in the last race to sn**ch the international teams series.

06/01/2026

HYDE WINS 2001 50-LAPPER
Kevin Hyde won the annual CRC 50-lap classic at Western Springs on this day 25 years ago... and with a $50 note in his pocket!

05/01/2026

1991 PETER JACKSON SERIES
35 years ago today the headlining Summer Motor Racing series was at Timaru.

Two wins for Craig Baird in Formula Pacific over Ken Smith brought him within five points of Smith after a dnf at Teretonga the week earlier.

Kieran Wills upset Kayne Scott's winning ways in the TraNZams by winning one of the three races - Scott still dominated and set a new track record in his Shell-backed Ford Sierra. A new entry in the class was Don Elvy with his Capri Chev.

Andy McElrea and Jonathan Harmer continued their epic struggle at the top of the Formula Ford championship, which included three Japanese drivers in the 25-car field.

John Sax and David Slater shared victories in the Group N races.

04/01/2026

CLASSIFIEDS 25 YEARS AGO....
Our last For Sale post was so popular, let's come forward five years and see what was For Sale in January 2001.

04/01/2026

LOWNDES TO FORD
25 years ago today Ford Australia announced they had signed Craig Lowndes for the 2001 V8 Supercars championship for what became the first of two season with Gibson Motorsport.

Prior Lowndes won two titles in three seasons with the Holden Racing Team. Nine seasons followed racing Ford cars - Lowndes was twice runner-up (2004 & 2005) with Triple Eight Engineering. When the team switched back to Holden in 2010 Lowndes went on to finish runner-up three more times.

03/01/2026

2006 PREVIEW & INKY JOINS NZV8's
20 years ago the headlining NZV8's headed to Teretonga and Timaru for January's two rounds of the championship with Kayne Scott leading the charge from fellow Holden driver Andy Booth and top Ford Falcon racer John McIntyre.

The season is also remembered for Indy Tulloch making his NZV8 debut, 30 years on and many titles after starting in motorsport in the '70's. Over three decades Inky raced from grass track stock cars to Sports Sedan, OSCA, and Trucks. In rallying he won Mainland Series titles and was runner-up in the national rally championship.

02/01/2026

WILLIAMS SUPER SALOON CHAMP
20 years ago today Steve Williams - better known then as Tiger Woods' racing caddy - became a champion in his own right after he won the New Zealand Super Saloon Car Championship at Baypark Speedway.

The final result 3rd January 2006: Williams (Mustang), 2nd Brent Emerson (Corvette) and 3rd Lance Jennings (Corvette).

The 2025/26 title will be contested at Meeanee, Hawke's Bay on 27/28th February.

02/01/2026

CLASSIFIEDS 30 YEARS AGO....
What was For Sale in January 1996?

Any of the cars pictured still around today?

01/01/2026

20 YEARS AGO... SpeedSport's January 2006 front cover featured the new Ford Focus WRC06 which was launched in Italy on December 1st, 2005.

The issue also featured a tribute to Richard Burns, the WRC champion who died on 25 November 2005 (see our FB page on 25 November 2025 to view this feature).

31/12/2025

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
25 years ago the January issue of SpeedSport was the 125th and featured the new car Citroen had prepared for a World Rally Championship debut in 2001.

Note the photo on the Contents page - Possum and Peggy Bourne with Mark Stacey at the FIA awards ceremony: Asia-Pacific Rally Champions. At the same awards Marcus Gronhom was awarded the trophy for FIA WRC champion and Michael Schumacher the trophy for F1 champion.

30/12/2025

TERETONGA 1990
The six-round Peter Jackson International Motor Racing Series kicked off 35 years ago today at Teretonga and while the hospitality was cordial the weather on race day Sunday was the opposite.

Formula Pacific was the headlining act with Craig Baird dominant in the two qualifying sessions and winner of the first race in his Swift DB4 - setting a new lap record at 55.30s - but it was a masterly drive in wet conditions by Ken Smith (Swift DB4) that gave him the win in the second race. Baird had aquaplaned off the circuit on slick tyres.

The order at the chequered flag in the 15-lap opening race was Baird, Smith and Paul Radisich (Reynard 90H). In the 30-lap feature, Smith won from American Mark Smith (Swift DB4) and Radisich.

CLEAN SWEEP FOR SCOTT
Kayne Scott made a clean sweep of all three TraNZam races in his Ford Sierra with Kieran Wills the runner-up each time in his Mazda RX8. The late Rodger Freeth took three third placings in his V8-powered Toyota Starlet.

INTERNATIONAL FORMULA FORD
Five oversees drivers boosted the Formula Ford ranks to a field of 25 - both 12 lap races were won by Andy McElrea (Van Diemen RF88) - the first from Greg Murphy (Van Diemen RF87) and Chris Abbott (Swift FB88). Formula Ford newcomer Garry Croft (Swift 89B) took second in the final race from Englishman Jonothon Harmer (Van Diemen RF90).

OTHER SUPPORTS
The meeting also featured Group N Touring Cars - races won by John Sax (BMW M3) and David Slater (Ford Sapphire), Mini 7 - both races won by Peter Black and Pre 65 Saloons - races won by Jim Little (Valiant), Wayne Austin (Anglia) and Chris Maxwell (Anglia) - the final race a handicap affair.

FRONT COVER: The two main images on SpeedSport's front cover for issue No.10 showed Kieran Wills and Kayne Scott dicing for the lead in a TraNZam race and Paul Radisich on wet tyres during the rain soaked second Formula Pacific feature race at Teretonga.

27/12/2025

SUNDAY READ: 'JIM RICHARDS - LIVING LEGEND'.
20 years ago SpeedSport published a feature on Jim Richards that delved into his rallying days in New Zealand, now over 50 years ago.

Petter Whitten unearthed some amazing stories in this feature....

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SpeedSport Ltd FB is dedicated to memories and memorabilia created promoting over 40 years of motorsport in New Zealand.

The SpeedSport name is most synonymous with two activities: publishing the motorsport magazine and as co-founder with Sabre Motorsport of the SpeedSport Scholarship programme.

The business actually began as a public relations consultancy dedicated to the promotion of motorsport, representing companies such as Shell Oil NZ Ltd and ICI Autocolor.

Audio and visual services included radio commentary and television production.

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