Sixteen New Zealanders to contest New Zealand Grand Prix in "race of champions"
Sixteen of New Zealand’s best racing drivers will contest the 66th New Zealand Grand Prix this weekend in the first major motorsport event of the year.
Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand will launch the three-round, 2021 edition of the Toyota Racing Series at Hampton Downs this weekend.
New Zealand’s COVID-19 travel restrictions mean that the season will be contested by an all-Kiwi field, with Sunday’s Grand Prix to headline the series.
The field, which boasts over 50 national and international championship titles, includes Supercars drivers Shane van Gisbergen and André Heimgartner, former GP winners Greg Murphy and Daniel Gaunt, former A1GP driver Chris van Der Drift, and Brendon and Damon Leitch.
Kiwi icon Kenny Smith will also make his 50th start in a New Zealand Grand Prix, with the 79 year-old likely to set a new record for FIA sanctioned Grand Prix races.
The star-studded pack will compete for FIA Super Licence points, $5,000 prize money for the winner, and the glory of what is being dubbed a “Race of Champions”.
Greg Murphy deemed the Grand Prix a unique sporting occasion for New Zealand and world motorsport fans.
“I’m in not because I thought I could win the event,” he said.
“I grew up with single seater racing and the New Zealand Grand Prix means so much.”
“We need to realise how prestigious this event is not only in New Zealand but on the world stage. I want to support that and we have some great milestones with Kenny Smith’s 50th start; that really is something to celebrate.
“I’m honoured to have the opportunity to be a part of it, to support it and put my weight behind it and to help make people realise just how important an event this is. And for this particular Grand Prix, you could say as Kiwis it’s the strongest and most interesting line-up we’ve had maybe since way back in the 80s or 90s.”
66th New Zealand Grand Prix - Full Entry List
- Chris Vlok
- Matthew Payne
- Conrad Clark
- Billy Frazer
- Kaleb Ngatoa
- Tom Alexander
- André Heimgartner
- Daniel Gaunt
- Chris van der Drift
- Joshua Bethune
- Ken Smith
- Greg Murphy
- Peter Vodanovich
- Brendon Leitch
- Damon Leitch
- Shane van Gisbergen
(Image: Bruce Jenkins/TGRNZ)
