Motor Sport
The Star Insure Classic SpeedFest 2023 takes place at Teretonga Park from 17-19 February and while it celebrates classic and historic vehicles from some of the great eras of motor racing you don’t always have to go back too far to reminisce over a great period in the sport.
The NZV8’s Championship was at its pinnacle during the mid to late 2000’s when the likes of Kayne Scott, John McIntyre, Paul Pedersen, Angus Fogg, Paul Radisich plus Australians such as Luke Youlden and David Besnard competed in Commodores and Falcons. The grids were full and the action was off the scale.
The crowds at Teretonga Park and around New Zealand embraced them with massive crowds enjoying the action.
One who enjoyed the era was Invercargill’s Boyd Wilson who admits to being a fan of V8’s. “I’ve always loved them. I own some classic road going V8’s and those NZV8’s Championships were a fantastic spectacle.”
And now, several years on, Boyd Wilson is the owner of two NZV8’s.
His first purchase was the ex-Dale Lambert Ford Falcon which he initially raced in a white livery. Wilson contested the South Island Endurance Series in the car and won the A1 Auto Services 1 Hour race with Jordan Michels in 2018.
“I was looking for something else when Kayne Scott’s Holden Commodore came up. I was actually inspired by Roy MacDonald who brough the ex-Radisich Falcon to Teretonga Park early in 2022. I thought it was so cool.”
Wilson now owned two of the cars from the series he had so admired. His son Harry had been racing Formula Ford but had parked up after winning Class 3 of the South Island Championship in 2019/2020 so in December Boyd competed in the Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons in his immaculately restored ex-Scott Commodore in its familiar Fujitsu livery while Harry joined him in the Falcon, now resplendent in the Mag & Turbo livery sported by Lambert.
“Primarily Harry and I race for fun. We enjoy the social side rather than cut throat racing and this was a great opportunity to race two cars in the same class, says Boyd. “The class had a real following and now there are lots of them being rolled out of sheds around the country. It is evident how popular they were simply by the amount of people who came up to us in December to talk about the cars. They are so cool at full noise and were the pinnacle in New Zealand at the time.”
Boyd says the two cars are quite different. “The Holden is a little faster in a straight line and the Falcon is better handling. Both are quite forgiving and easy to learn to drive. They are harder at 100% with the top guys lapping in 1 minute 2 seconds back in the day. The first time I went out on track in the Commodore I thought holy shit, what am I doing here!”
“Harry is enjoying it too and it is pretty cool to race my son. I am pleasantly surprised keeping him honest, it is good to be competitive. Harry was third and I was fourth in the class at the December meeting.”
While Boyd enjoyed the golden era of NZV8’s, Harry at just 21 years of age missed their heyday but remembers them when the fields were not so big. “I watched them with Dad. They were the coolest cars on the track,” says Harry.
Harry who has come from karting and Formula Ford plus Clubmans racing echoes Boyd’s comments about the cars. “They are very forgiving. I love it, they are so cool to drive. It is just the noises it makes and people really appreciate it being turned out in the old livery. I just want to thank everyone who helped us get the cars on track.”
Boyd and Harry will appear in the Noel McIntyre Drainage Club Saloons class at the Star Insure Classic SpeedFest 2023 at Teretonga Park from 17-19 February.
Tickets for the event are on sale now at Auto Centre and E Hayes & Sons, Invercargill and Harrison’s Supplies, Gore.