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New Zealand Formula Ford results 1987/88 & 1988/89


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#1 O Volante

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Posted 14 June 2009 - 12:39

This is a kind of second try: I'm looking for the above results and other details on NZ Formula Ford racing in the two seasons in order to find out more about the early days of Craig Baird's racing career, who is said to have debuted in this class at the time.

Unfortunately this earlier request did not yield anything. Does a different heading better my chances?




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#2 bradbury west

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Posted 14 June 2009 - 17:07

No sources to check, but it rings a bell. ISTR Baird had a hard race at Pukekohe with my former neighbour Julian Westwood in FF2000 in the winter of 88/89. Any more info from anyone? I recall it was in Autosport.
Roger Lund

#3 David McKinney

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Posted 14 June 2009 - 21:46

I don't expect either of you to believe this, but I may have NZ magazines from that period stashed away somewhere...

#4 wenoopy

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 09:43

This is a kind of second try: I'm looking for the above results and other details on NZ Formula Ford racing in the two seasons in order to find out more about the early days of Craig Baird's racing career, who is said to have debuted in this class at the time.

Unfortunately this earlier request did not yield anything. Does a different heading better my chances?


Not sure what information you may already have, but "Wigram Motor Racing - The History of the Motor Racing Club" yields the following :
18 January 1987 Wigram FFord Race 1 : C.Baird (Reynard) 5th, Race 2 - 7th; winner of both races Shane Higgins(Van Diemen)

24 January 1988 Wigram Formula Ford Race #1 : C.Baird(Van Diemen) 1st; race #2 - 1st;

The following year (i.e. 1988-89 season) he was running a Ralt RT-4 in the Formula Pacific Class.

There were quite likely Annuals for the 1986/87 and 1987/88 seasons put out by one of the NZ magazines, a more dedicated collector than me might well have something. Otherwise the magazines themselves should have ample detail- "NZ Motoring News" for example.


#5 O Volante

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 19:35

Hello together, and many, many thanks to all contributors so far! :)

Err, Mr. Wenoopy, not much!!! Craig was born 22 July 1970 and according to information from the net, he started racing in Formula Ford aged 17 - hence my idea, that this must have been during the 1987/88 season. But as your bits and pieces from Wigram show, it was apparently a season earlier ... and he was only 16!

Thanks to Autosport, I know a little more about most of the Formula Atlantic races in NZ during the period. At least Craig's later rise to become the outstanding driver in the category in NZ was fairly well covered. By this success the young man was soon earmarked for racing abroad, and in 1992 he came to Britain to race in National Formula 3000. However, with a Japanese Dome-Mugen (run by Graham Lorrimer) his choice of car was a rather excentric, which unfortunately also showed in poor results ... Bouncing back from the disappointment, he became later a quite successful driver of tin tops in NZ and Oz - and is it to the day!

So, back to the start: any idea about his first car race?



#6 hiteknz

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 20:13

Hello together, and many, many thanks to all contributors so far! :)

Err, Mr. Wenoopy, not much!!! Craig was born 22 July 1970 and according to information from the net, he started racing in Formula Ford aged 17 - hence my idea, that this must have been during the 1987/88 season. But as your bits and pieces from Wigram show, it was apparently a season earlier ... and he was only 16!

Thanks to Autosport, I know a little more about most of the Formula Atlantic races in NZ during the period. At least Craig's later rise to become the outstanding driver in the category in NZ was fairly well covered. By this success the young man was soon earmarked for racing abroad, and in 1992 he came to Britain to race in National Formula 3000. However, with a Japanese Dome-Mugen (run by Graham Lorrimer) his choice of car was a rather excentric, which unfortunately also showed in poor results ... Bouncing back from the disappointment, he became later a quite successful driver of tin tops in NZ and Oz - and is it to the day!

So, back to the start: any idea about his first car race?



#7 hiteknz

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 20:26

Yes it was at Pukekohe at a club meeting on the cub circuit ,his debut was actually covered by the TV news and shown on the news the next night ,I remember because it was quite a big thing to have the TV people there on a Club day,from memory Stan his father organized it
He competed in the single seater races which were the normal club type day that lumped all the single seaters in together,
I can look out a date and post here later or you can PM me
Bob

#8 O Volante

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Posted 15 June 2009 - 21:35

Hello Bob, also many thanks to you! Seems very modern, such a try-out organized by dad for son in a 'non-championship' race targeting public attention, before moving into the National championship ... Yes please, more details!

#9 SRB

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Posted 16 June 2009 - 01:44

Hello Bob, also many thanks to you! Seems very modern, such a try-out organized by dad for son in a 'non-championship' race targeting public attention, before moving into the National championship ... Yes please, more details!

I think you will find that the first race Craig had in F.Ford was in 1985 at Pukekohe. It was in a Titan Mk6 that his Dad Stan had purchased. Stan was the service manager at the local Ford dealer at the time. When he purchased the car it was red but Stan had it painted a dark blue. As Craig was only a young fellow at this time it did create a bit of interest and did feature on the TV1 news and also in the local Waikato Times. Now days you have to be 12 or 13 to get similar coverage.

#10 bradbury west

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Posted 16 June 2009 - 08:49

ISTR that the race with Julian Westwood to which I referred was in FF2000
Roger Lund

#11 O Volante

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Posted 16 June 2009 - 20:51

Thank you very much, SRB! Do you know the exact date, and more details about that event at Pukekohe?
Yes, Roger, I think you are right about Julian Westwood as one of Craig's competitors - but in British F3000! I'll look for details ...

#12 bradbury west

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Posted 16 June 2009 - 23:23

But I know that Julian and Tony, his father, went out there over 88/89 for FF2000 as Tony told me all the details, a bit of a rough race IIRC. For info Tony was a regular on UK hills and later on the circuits in Sports 2000, having started off in rallies as a buddy of Henry Liddon
RL

#13 SRB

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Posted 17 June 2009 - 07:53

Thank you very much, SRB! Do you know the exact date, and more details about that event at Pukekohe?
Yes, Roger, I think you are right about Julian Westwood as one of Craig's competitors - but in British F3000! I'll look for details ...

I believe it was a Northern Sports Car Club meeting on the 8th December 1985. Craig drove the Titan for this season before changing to a Reynard for 1987 and then to a Van Diemen RF86 for 1988. This was his most successful season in FF before progressing to Formula Pacific in a Ralt RT4.

Craig did compete against Julian Westwood in NZ a few years later but it was in Formula Pacific and not FF2000. Westwood and Harry Nuttall came to NZ to drive for Graeme Lawrence's team in the 1992 Peter Jackson Series which included the NZ Grand Prix held at the Manfield circuit.

#14 O Volante

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Posted 17 June 2009 - 18:07

Hello together!
Again, thanks a lot, SRB! Does somebody have more details on hand for that meeting?
To make search for FF races during the relevant 85/86, 86/87 and 87/88 seasons more simple, here are the dates for the big NZ meetings as appearing in Formula Atlantic race lists:

85/86
29 December 1985, Bay Park
5 January 1986, Pukekohe
12 Janaury 1986, Manfeild
19 January 1986, Wigram

86/87
30 November 1986, Manfeild
7 December 1986, Bay Park
14 December 1986, Pukekohe
28 December 1986, Bay Park
4 January 1987, Pukekohe
11 January 1987, Manfeild
18 Janaury 1987, Wigram

87/88
3 January 1988, Manfeild
10 January 1988, Bay Park
17 January 1988, Pukekohe
24 Wigram 1988, Wigram
31 Janaury 1988, Timaru

Surely there were FF races for the NZ championship, and probably an additional meeting here an there, not to speak about clubies ...

Also many thanks, Roger! SRB, I would think, has settled the matter ... and I'm wrong about Julian and Craig racing in British F3000! In fact, Julian raced in the series during 1990 (3 races) and 1991 (11 races, one victory), but Craig only arrived in 1992, when the series was called British 'F2': he had ten races, and his best result was a 4th ...




#15 David McKinney

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Posted 17 June 2009 - 19:02

There would probably have been about ten national FF championship rounds each season

I've been racking my brains trying to remember when he did an F3 test at Silverstone and another at Snetterton, with West Surrey Racing. I'm sure it was after he'd started racing Pacifics - 1990, maybe?




#16 SRB

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Posted 18 June 2009 - 07:50

I've been racking my brains trying to remember when he did an F3 test at Silverstone and another at Snetterton, with West Surrey Racing. I'm sure it was after he'd started racing Pacifics - 1990, maybe?

I think you are probably right Dave. Funnily enough I have a couple of photos given to me by Stan Baird of Craig being strapped into the F3 car in the Silverstone pits prior to that test. The car is in Benetton colours and has Uniden on the side. From what I was told he was very quick in this test and Dick Bennetts would have been keen to run him for a season. Unfortunatley the sort of money required could not be found.

#17 Ian Smith - Diz

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Posted 18 June 2009 - 16:25

Craig was born 22 July 1970 and according to information from the net, he started racing in Formula Ford aged 17 - hence my idea, that this must have been during the 1987/88 season. But as your bits and pieces from Wigram show, it was apparently a season earlier ... and he was only 16!

I think you can drive on the road - and probably even race - at fifteen in NZ



#18 David McKinney

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Posted 18 June 2009 - 16:36

In my day (a long time ago now...) you could get a licence at 15. I did recently ask someone if it was still the same and think was told it's now 16 or 17
The rule that you couldn't get a racing licence without a civil licence has obviously been waived since those days - how old was Scott Dixon when he started in Formula Vee?

#19 SRB

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Posted 18 June 2009 - 17:52

In my day (a long time ago now...) you could get a licence at 15. I did recently ask someone if it was still the same and think was told it's now 16 or 17
The rule that you couldn't get a racing licence without a civil licence has obviously been waived since those days - how old was Scott Dixon when he started in Formula Vee?

It's still 15.

Scott Dixon was racing, and winning in F. Vee at 13

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#20 O Volante

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Posted 18 June 2009 - 19:06

As far as I understood, Scott was the first to get a special 'racing' licence at 13. Since a number of boys and girls (at least Christina Orr, that is; there may be others) have followed. The stated reason has always been sufficient experience in karting. By the way, this is not too surprising - since some years karting is thaught at several school in the country!

#21 SRB

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Posted 06 September 2009 - 02:33

There would probably have been about ten national FF championship rounds each season

I've been racking my brains trying to remember when he did an F3 test at Silverstone and another at Snetterton, with West Surrey Racing. I'm sure it was after he'd started racing Pacifics - 1990, maybe?

Posted Image

Craig Baird being strapped into a Dick Bennetts F3 car for a test at Silverstone in the erly 90's. Unfortunatley despite some competitive times a deal for the next season could not be struck due to lack of a budget.

#22 kiwi a110

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Posted 06 September 2009 - 08:35

Thank you very much, SRB! Do you know the exact date, and more details about that event at Pukekohe?
Yes, Roger, I think you are right about Julian Westwood as one of Craig's competitors - but in British F3000! I'll look for details ...


I would rather surprised if this is the case... largely because we did not have FF2000 here in NZ. In fact Motorsport NZ have released JUST THIS WEEK the change from the Kent engine!
Perhaps he came over to race {acifics (Atlantics)?


#23 kiwi a110

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Posted 06 September 2009 - 08:45

I would rather surprised if this is the case... largely because we did not have FF2000 here in NZ. In fact Motorsport NZ have released JUST THIS WEEK the change from the Kent engine!
Perhaps he came over to race Pacifics (Atlantics)?
And NZ driver's licence is still 15


Edited by kiwi a110, 06 September 2009 - 08:45.