It will be young-guns against senior campaigners in the 2022-23 Hi-Q Components NZ Formula First Championship as the series introduces a Masters Championship for the season. The championship, run within the Formula First field, is for racers aged 50 and older, the intention being to entice more gentlemen racers into the series.
Points from the drivers top four rounds will be tallied at the end of the season, the highest scorer crowned champion. With seven rounds in 2022-23, masters can be selective as to which events they will race in, the series providing more flexibility for racers. This also removes the impact a bad round has on scoring, potentially eliminating it from the driver’s scoresheet.
“We think our new Masters Championship initiative will help entice not only former competitors back to the class but introduce an entirely new bunch of people to the sport,” said Ian Foster, President of FVANZ, in a release shared with Velocity News.
“We’ve got a great group of masters-aged competitors who just love their racing and have their own great battles and now they’ve got something to fight for.
“This has to be the most cost-effective way to be part of a national motor racing championship, and with a huge degree of flexibility for the competitor.”
The season, which will be marking 55 years of Formula First in New Zealand, gets underway this weekend with the first round at Manfeild.
From here, the series will return to Pukekohe for one last dance over November 12-13.
Formula First have arrive-and-drive packages available for car lease or purchase for a more cost-effective entry into the sport. With only four rounds counted for the Masters Championship and you’re over 50, what’s stopping you having a go? It’s not too late.
Header Image: Darren Henderson, one of the competitors eligible for the new NZ Formula First Masters Championship, races around Feilding’s Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon.
Photographer: Tayler Burke
