The second round of the 2025/26 NZ Sports Cars – Formula Racing NZ series delivered another spectacular day of motorsport at Manfeild’s Circuit Chris Amon, with fine weather, a strong 18-car field and close racing throughout the pack.
The series combines the Open and 2 litre sports car categories with Formula Atlantic/Pacific and ex-TRS (FT40s and FT50s) cars.
NZ Sports Cars promotes a wide variety of cars, from the professionally built Radicals, Junos and Ligiers, through to a mix of locally built cars, and with it a wide range of performance, from the extremely quick 450 HP Radical SR10s to some of the smaller 2-litre cars.
Formula Racing NZ’s mission is to support the development of emerging NZ driving talent (by providing access to modern FIA-entrant-level equivalent ex-Toyota Racing Series cars) while also providing drivers of all ages with affordable access to some of New Zealand’s premier historic formula cars.
The promise of close battles up and down the field, created by pitting a wide range of individual car performance against a diverse mix of sports cars and single-seaters, was clearly played out in all three races.
In particular, the racing saw some bold moves through the in-field, where the agility of the FT40s and FT50s in the technical sections countered the straight-line speed of the SR10s. The racing stayed clean throughout, however, fast and intensely competitive and with constant pressure across the pack: in all, ensuring that the crowd was entertained from start to finish.
Midfield packs ran nose to tail for much of the weekend, with multiple overtakes each lap as drivers jostled for position.
Kenny Smith
The event saw motorsport icon Kenny Smith join the series. Although his qualifying times were not as quick as he wanted, he quickly settled back into the rhythm and, using his racecraft and experience, carved his way through the field and kept several younger drivers honest.
Talking about driving with sports cars for the first time, his response was “they are all right, I’m not worried about them, it’s just like in any other type of racing, whether the other cars are around you or close to you, you just need to race with them and trust them. I really enjoyed the whole weekend and cannot wait for the next meeting in February,” says Kenny.
Edgell Untouchable
Apart from an incident in race one, due to “boiling” brake fluid, the SR10, driven by Tim Edgell, once again proved untouchable.
Tim’s father, renowned engine builder, Randel Edgell, reported that “We were out to break our lap record of 1m: 02.820 set at the previous meeting, but will now wind things back a bit for the next two races” – it cannot have been by much, however, given his performance in the next two races.
Double Duty
Both Campbell Owens and Toby McCormack performed double duty during the weekend by running in both the North Island Formula Ford Championship events as well as the Formula Racing NZ events.
As Toby says, “There is no doubt that running in the FT50 has helped sharpen my Formula Ford driving skills”, and, as evidence of this, both drivers ran “neck to neck” at the front of all Formula Ford races all weekend.
Reinforcing the advantages of single-seater seat time, “Any kid intending to carry on in motorsports needs open wheel experience for whatever they are going to do”, says Kenny Smith.
Qualifying
Tim Edgell was once again clearly at the head of the field. McCormack was just ahead of Matt Powell. An improved performance from Mark Galvin saw him just pip Steve Sharpe and Owens.
Leo Francis put in a hot lap to be ahead of Nick Barker. Richard Kelly, Tony Hembrow, Geoff Harriman and Smith were less than one second apart, as were Paul Couper, Anton Aalders, Nick Rae and Robert Hulme.
Race 1
McCormack and Smith were late onto the track and were obliged to start from the back of the grid. Edgell was quickly into the lead with Steve Sharpe jumping Galvin and Powell to be second. Kelly also made a good start to pass Francis.
Barker was soon on Richard’s tail until Richard had an engine problem on lap six. Meanwhile, McCormack and Ken Smith were working their way through the field.
Race 2
While Tim Edgell started further down the field, he was quickly into the lead by the end of the first lap. McCormack worked his way from fifth at the start to finish third behind Galvin. Francis passed both Nick Baker and Owens to finish sixth.
After a slow start, Harriman put in a great drive to recover and pass Couper, Morgan Tunnicliffe, Richard Crabb and Hembrow.
Race 3
Powell held off McCormack until the final lap, when McCormack slipped through for second place. Galvin chased these two until he spun out of turn one. Francis was hot on the heels of Owens throughout the race and again passed Owens on the last lap.
Barker also inserted himself into this duel on occasion, as did Smith from mid-race. Aalders chased the duelling pair of Harriman and Hembrow to finish ahead.
Winners of the Formula Racing NZ Categories for Round 2:
- Shane Van Gisbergen Trophy for FT50 cars: Toby McCormack
- Brendon Hartley Trophy for FT40 cars: Campbell Owens
- Kenny Smith Trophy for Atlantic cars: Kenny Smith
The most points up to and including Round 2:
- The Scott Dixon Trophy: Campbell Owens
Winners of the NZ Sports Cars Categories for Round 2:
- Open Class: Matt Powell
- 2 Litre class: Nick Barker
With a strong turnout, good weather and the welcome entry of a Kiwi legend, the Manfeild event certainly lived up to its reputation and delivered another spectacular day of motorsport at Manfeild’s Circuit Chris Amon. The series now moves on with momentum building, with the next race planned for 22 -24 February 2026.
Header Image: Supplied
