Motorsport: Dad's old engines do job for Zac Stichbury

Hawke's Bay's Zac Stichbury in action in the New Zealand Formula 1600 Championship. Photo/Supplied

Almost 30 years after Ashley Stichbury won his first New Zealand Formula Ford Championship his son Zac is putting the same engine parts to good use.

"It's pretty cool nothing really changes through the years. We still run those kind of engines," Zac said as he reflected on his fourth placing in the New Zealand Formula 1600 Championship which finished this month.

The Formula 1600 Championship has replaced the Formula Ford Championship which Ashley, the former New Zealand V8 Touring Car driver, who died in 2002, won in the 1992-93 season and 1993-94 season. Zac's manager Roger Greaney put four of Ashley's engines away and he had no hesitation in pulling parts off them for Zac's final three rounds of the Championship after his motor blew in round two.

"I remember when we put them away we mentioned Zac might use them in the future. More than 20 years later that has happened," Napier's Greaney said.

"It looks like we're going to rebuild one of Dad's old engines for the start of the next Championship in October and we will use the engine I've got in the car now as a second engine," 17-year-old Zac said.

A Napier Boys' High School Year 13 student, Zac, was the only Hawke's Bay driver in the 25-car Championship. He finished eighth in the Timaru-hosted first round, fifth in the Christchurch-hosted second round, fourth in the Invercargill-hosted third round and fourth in the respective Manfeild and Pukekohe-hosted fourth and fifth rounds.

"I wanted third place on the overall standings but a bit of inexperience and bad luck cost me. It was close," Zac said.

He finished 40 points behind fellow first-season racer in the class, Palmerston North's Callum Crawley, who won the New Zealand Formula First Championship in April last year. Invercargill's Jordan Michels and Auckland's Josh Bethune, who have both had a couple of seasons in the Formula 1600 Championship, were first and second respectively.

Zac was quick to reply when asked which of the venues he fancied the most.

"Manfeild ... it's a driver's track and I really enjoyed it."

He has yet to decide whether he will do the Winter Series in the Formula 1600 class.

Late last year Zac became the first Bay karter to represent New Zealand at the world Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals in Conde-Paraiba, Brazil. One of 72 starters in the class, Stichbury, was taken out in two of his races but still gained a start in the 36-kart final.

Despite starting on grid 36, Zac, made up 21 positions to finish an eye-catching 15th.

"If I started further up the grid I could have done better. But I was happy with the experience over there ... I topped a few of the practice sessions and was second in a race."

Zac pointed out all of the drivers raced brand new borrowed karts so everyone was even from the start.

At next month's Hamilton-hosted Easter nationals Stichbury will attempt to improve on last year's second placing in the Rotax Max Light class.

"I'm chasing $5000 in sponsorship to assist me with that campaign. With the Brazil trip as well as the Formula 1600 Championship the funds have taken a hammering," Zac said.

It's obvious he has come a long way both on and off the track since he gained his first driver rating as a karter in the Rotax Max Junior class in 2015. That was two years after he failed to gain a rating at his first introduction to karting.

In 2017 Zac won his first Hawke's Bay club championship title and tackled his first national sprint championship meeting in Invercargill where he finished fifth in the Junior Yamaha class and sixth in the Rotax Max Junior class.

His second placing in the Rotax Max Light class at last year's Rotorua-hosted nationals came just three months after stepping up to the senior ranks. It was recorded against much older and more experienced drivers from both sides of the Tasman.