Way back in 1986, Donn White of Tauranga started a series for BMC 4 cylinder cars, raced over four North Island circuits - Taupo, Manfeild, Pukekohe and the now defunct, Bay Park, in Tauranga.

The series gradually gained in popularity, attracting Minis, MG Midgets, MGBs and the late Jim Chrystall's Wolseley 1500 (albeit with a larger engine), and had a format of two races per meeting.   Traditionally, the first race was a scratch race - naturally enough, fought out by the faster cars;  the second was a handicap, but regardless of the results, the overall series was normally won by one of the quicker cars.

Around 1994, TACCOC had a series for Classic British Sports & GTs, (the Gasoline Alley series) with fairly low key rules and a bonus point system which was biased towards old, wire wheeled, wooden framed, British Racing Green, non trailered cars, with less than oil tight engines and not running on Japanese tyres or spark plugs...  The series ran for a couple of years but was then dropped when there was a change of TACCOC club policy.

At the end of the 1995/96 season after an an unfortunate disagreement regarding the series leader running a different cara the last round, and a formal complaint by just one driver, the BMC series was left without a convenor, and what was left was a small group of drivers with no convenor.  I was asked to take over the series by Derek Prior, a former MGCC (Auckland)  President, as we had worked well together running sprints and hillclimbs in the past.

So, in 1996, the series restarted, under a different team.

A NEW BEGINNING

A quick investigation showed that the series was less than viable with the number of drivers left (less than 10!), so an equally quick decision was made to move into a new era.  The first move was to expand the catchment to British Leyland cars, and the 4 cylinder rule was scrapped which then let in Jaguars, Austin Healeys, Rovers  etc. and TR6, TR7 V8, MGB V8.  

The series ran like this for just one year, and I was more than a bit frustrated that my own British GT car (Marcos) had no series in which it could run as by this time, the Gasoline Alley Series had been dropped.  The idea of the fastest car always winning in a classic event for a mixed bag of cars, didn't seem consistent with Classic racing philosophy.  Well, not mine anyway...  The format was therefore changed to two handicap races, with the idea that any car would then stand a chance of winning.  The aforementioned complainant and objector to the BMC series car swap, was an equal points winner, and when the new format was announced, stalked off in high dudgeon, clutching the BMC trophy, muttering about it now being no more than a lottery...  We didn't see the trophy again for several years.

With the permission of Chris Watson, the leading light behind the TACCOC series at the time, and now a leading light in the HRC (Historic Racing Club, plus Hampton Downs), we were able to absorb the other British Sports and GT cars, so for the 1997/8 season, Marcos, Morgan, Lotus, TVR, Reliant etc., were added to the list of potential runners - and I had somewhere to race.

Series rules were drawn up in detail, with considerable communications with the governing body - Motorsport New Zealand (or MANZ as it was back then), with the original intention to become a Sanctioned Series - an idea we eventually rejected.

 THE NEW LOOK

With the previous thin fields now expanded, the series started to define the character it is now well known for.  My own talents were used to work hard on the handicapping methods, as this is an area which was to become a feature of the series.  Handicapping is always a gamble, but there are two distinct philosophies.  The first is that the fastest cars start at the back of the field but are given enough of a delay to make a race of it, as they power to the front of the field.   The second philosophy is that the aim is to have all cars across the line at the same time, so that the winner could come from anywhere.

We opted for the second philosophy, which effectively means that the winner is never really known in advance, but all drivers have a theoretically equal chance of taking the chequered flag.  In truth, those slow cars at the front have a better chance as it is much easier to hold position than gain a place, especially when cars are fairly  evenly matched for lap times, but some handle well, others accelerate or brake well.

The occasional yellow flag incidents can also throw the results out as if the flag is shown at the only overtaking point on a circuit, then the overtaking driver is delayed for a full lap.

With that in mind, when the computer calculated handicaps are worked out, a certain amount of massaging is essential as the starter can only safely work in blocks of 5 seconds, which just about gives drivers time to move forward to the start line, and then accept a three, two,  one, countdown.

 SPONSORSHIP                                                

Geoff Bonham of Leisuretime Spa  and Pool Covers became our major sponsor after our second season and remained so until the end of the 2006/2007 season,

Greg Bellingham of Tracer Interiors and Construction (the same Tracer that sponsors the successful V8 team) joined as co sponsor about  2002.

SPEED BARS

Just to try and maintain a reasonably safe environment for the slightly slower cars, it was decided early on that it would be better if faster cars went and raced with the big boys.  There were one or two amateurs with V8 powered cars, such as Harley Norager (MGB V8) and  Mark Parsons (TR7 V8) running on smaller budgets and running road registered cars who elected to run with us, but then had to suffer a speed bar at each circuit, to slow them down a bit.

The speed bar at the 2.8km Pukekohe circuit was originally set at 1:12.  The time was arrived at by studying the fastest times of our own drivers .  Any driver going faster was then subjected to a stop/go penalty - provided the timekeepers were able to pick it up and the message communicated to the Clerk of the Course.

The first time this actually happened was at Manfeild, when Harley Norager scorched through from the back of the grid, and was penalised, much to the chagrin of the commentator, who wasn't aware of the ruling!  When Harley roared out again in hot pursuit, the large and enthusiastic crowd were cheering him on, willing him to get to the front.  He didn't manage it, as there was such a massive traffic jam on the last lap with cars three and four abreast all over the circuit. 

This episode confirmed that we had a winning formula and we never changed it until the start of the 2004/2005 season, which heralded yet another new structure.  The bar was lowered to 1:10 at Pukekohe when too many cars were breaking out, and black flagging all of them was getting to be too difficult.

 TWO CLASSES AND ANOTHER STEP FORWARD

As the series grew in popularity, it became too large for one grid so it was split into two groups - Sports and GTs in groups 1, saloons in group 2.  There were now large speed differentials between fastest and slowest in each group, and at most circuits, several of the faster cars had to start from the pit lane, so for 2004/05, the cars were grouped  according to speed, with a speed bar at 1:15 for the slower group, and the faster group at 1:08.  This has worked brilliantly with several groups of drivers now in each category  having their own battles within the races. 

RETRO CLASSICS, REPLICAS & CODs

The very successful Targa New Zealand initiated by Mike John, encouraged  a massive variety of cars, some of which were classics and also had classic engine transplants.  Most prominent of these was Jonathon Hills with his Rover V8 powered Triumph Herald Coupe, a real crowd pleaser.  Jo wanted to race the car too, and along with several other Targa competitors, applied to join our series.  Those running genuine classics had no problem. Although by this time, an autocratic dictatorial organisation, we put out a note to all our existing drivers asking them if the car could run, and there was overwhelming support for the inclusion, so our rules were rewritten to allow a limited number of Retro Classics, subject to certain restrictions, one of which was an acceptance by the existing members. 

Ongoing during this phase, there was a proposal that all classic cars should have a Certificate of Description.  Initially this was optional, then at a MSNZ conference, it was made compulsory, then optional, then compulsory again!

TACCOC already had a rule barring classics with engine transplants and also replicas, even it that replica was a faithful copy of the original, such as Rogan Hampson's Ohlsen Cobra complete with polished alloy body. When TACCOC refused to accept either the Cobra or the Triumph, we had an obvious philosophical difference, so when they decided to make CoD's compulsory at all their meetings, we had no option but to pull out and seek rounds of the series elsewhere.  This was easy enough, as whilst TACCOC were shrinking, the Historic Racing Club was growing, and with additional rounds at Club Lotus and Auckland Car Club events, the series continued to flourish.  

HISTORIC RACING CLUB

As Derek Prior and I were both members of the MGCC, the series always ran under their auspices, so when we promoted and ran our own race meetings, the MGCC were allocated a share of the meeting profits, in return for their manpower support.  With the rise of F5000 racing, instigated by the HRC, our traditional end January Pukekohe booking was handed over to HRC who have made a spectacular success whilst also developing the new Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, and as the MGCC realised that they hadn't the committed manpower to run race meetings, we asked if we could run under the auspices of HRC - so we now do.  

THE SERIES NOW HAS HAD OVER 100 REGISTERED DRIVERS FOR THE LAST THREE SEASONS AND IT WAS CLAIMED TO BE THE LARGEST CLASSIC RACE GROUP IN THE COUNTRY - IN FACT, IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE LARGEST RACE GROUP OVERALL - UNTIL THE BMW SERIES ARRIVED!