Racer returns, 60 years on

VRROM: Fred Courtney in the Northland Special, which won the first New Zealand Grand Prix in 1950. Photo Melissa Eichhoff

Kaikohe motor racing enthusiast Fred Courtney's Northland Special racecar, which won the first New Zealand Grand Prix in 1950, will be at the 60th national grand prix at Manfeild in Feilding next week.

Proper racing machines were rare and backyard specials were all the rage 65 years ago when John McMillan drove the car to grand prix victory at the Ohakea air base circuit.

Back then the Indianapolis-style single-seater, powered by a a 3919cc V8 from a 1939 Mercury coupe, was known as the Jackson Special because it was built at the Jackson Engineering Ltd works in Miramar.

Ken McLennan, of Maungakaramea, had replaced the Ford V8 with a six-cylinder Jaguar motor when Fred Courtney bought the car off him in 1970 and has owned it since, rolling it out three or four times a year for hill climbs and classic car races.

Manfeild's Festival of Motorsport atmosphere has been given extra gas by the Grand Prix on February 14 being the 60th anniversary of grand prix racing in New Zealand.

The circuit is laying on special activities, including a display of rare racing cars associated with the race's history, some of which will have not been seen at the circuit since their competition days.

Fred Courtney and the Northland Special will be part of the display but Fred joked that, should the opportunity arise, he'd be happy to line up alongside the modern Toyota Racing Series cars in the big race.

Factory-built Maserati and Copper Climax racers that carried the likes of Stirling Moss and Jack Brabham to 1950s grand prix triumphs after the Jackson Special's drive to glory spelled the end of home-made machines competing in motor racing at that level.

Mr Courtney, 73, who still works daily in his Broadway Motor Services workshop at Kaikohe, is a longtime motor racing fan. He was competing in a Dodge-powered 1948 Vauxhall J before he acquired the Special.

The inaugural grand prix winner didn't handle, brake or do a lot of other things modern racecars could do. "You've got to drive it for what it is," he said.

The car is running well and still capable of touching its top speed of nearly 200 km/h. It has pride of place alongside the 1936 Austin 10 and "quite a few Jags" which Mr Courtney and his partner Lin have collected.

-The 60th Grand Prix weekend starts with the annual Manfeild Fireworks Spectacular on February 13, a family fun evening with the opportunity to meet drivers and see their cars, plus watch displays, including drifting and motorcycle stunts.

Race weekend is the culmination of the Toyota Racing Series, featuring the new FT-50 single seater, and including all the major national championship categories. The eight-cylinder action includes the unique appearance of F5000s and Central Muscle Cars.