Spectators were treated to a day of good racing as the 2026 Classic SpeedFest got underway at Teretonga Park in Invercargill on Saturday.
Virtually every class that had two races featured a different winner in each, while there were some close margins at the end of several of them.
There was a nostalgic moment during the lunch break as the Team Kiwi Racing Holden Commodore that debuted at Bathurst in 2000 did some laps, with several volunteers receiving rides.
Leon Hallett of Mosgiel (Falcon) took the opening race of the weekend in the HVRA Class, winning from Paul Burnet of Auckland in a Ford Mustang and Brent Findlay of Timaru in a Datsun 1200. Marvin Turton of Porirua in a Leyland Mini won the second, a handicap event, with Findlay second and Jamie Greene of Dunedin in another Datsun 1200 third.
Graeme Fraser of Tauranga in a BMW M3 won the first Classic Saloon race from Mike Baker of Picton in a Porsche 964, with Marcus Stewart of Christchurch third in a similar Porsche, before Baker won the second outing from Stewart and Harry Wilson of Invercargill in a Falcon.
The Formula Junior races, featuring a large contingent of international drivers, provided two very close finishes. In the first, Robin Longdon of Great Britain in a Lola crossed the line just .094 of a second ahead of Robert Hoemke of the United States in another Lola, with Adrian Russell of the UK right on their tails in a Lotus. Later in the day, Geoff Underwood of Great Britain triumphed in his Brabham BT21 by .940 of a second from Longdon with Hoemke third.
The only back-to-back winner on Saturday was in Formula Libre, where Ben Stiles of Mount Somers, in his wings and slicks Formula Renault, won both races from 12-year-old karting star Nixon Cripps of Edendale, who drove extremely well in his motor racing debut.
1974/75 NZ Formula Ford Champion, Grant Walker, now resident in Australia, in the Titan he won that championship with, was third in the first race, while local driver Rachael Beck took third in the second race in a Van Diemen after Walker failed to finish.
The Vintage Racing Car clashes were also close, Royce Bayer of Rangiora in his Beowulf winning the opening race from Roger Greaney of Napier in a Lotus 20/22 and Paul Coory of Mosgiel in a CAE Sprintcar. Coory then won the second from Tracey Barrett of Christchurch in a Lotus 23C and Bill Cowie of Blenheim in a Spangeralli.
In other races, Mini 7 South and the Mazda MX5 Heritage Cup combined to run together, Justin Neill of Christchurch winning the Mini contest from Adam Box of Rolleston, while Matthew Smith of Christchurch headed Jamie Hannah of Wakefield in the Mazdas.
Steve Ross of Dunedin won the Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloon race in his Ligier JSP3 from Mike Baker and Marcus Stewart.
The second day of competition commences at 9.15 am tomorrow with sixteen races on the programme.
Header Image: Dave Loudon
