1998 New Zealand Grand Prix | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() | |||
Race details | |||
Date | 6 December 1998 | ||
Official name | XLIV New Zealand Grand Prix | ||
Location | Ruapana Park, Christchurch, New Zealand | ||
Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
Course length | 2.841 km (1.765 miles) | ||
Distance | 34 laps, 96.6 km (60 miles) | ||
Weather | Light rain/overcast | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | SH Racing | ||
Time | 1:15.782 | ||
Fastest lap | |||
Driver | ![]() | Greg Murphy Racing | |
Time | 1:17.031 on lap 32 | ||
Podium | |||
First | Birrana Racing | ||
Second | SH Racing | ||
Third | Greg Murphy Racing |
The 1998 New Zealand Grand Prix event for open wheel racing cars was held at Ruapana Park near Christchurch on 6 December 1998. This event marked the events return after a two-year hiatus. It was the forty-fourth New Zealand Grand Prix and was the first to be run to Formula Holden regulations. The event also served as part of the briefly revived Tasman Series.
The event was won by Simon Wills driving for Birrana Racing, while Scott Dixon and Greg Murphy rounded out the podium.
Ever since the inaugural event in 1950, the New Zealand Grand Prix had attracted some of the best racing drivers from home and abroad, with the honours roll consisting of some of the greatest drivers in the sports history. However, by the turn of the 1990s, the relevance of the event began to wane and eventually culminated in the 1995 iteration only receiving seven entries. The event would lay dormant for two years before making its return in 1998, with the aim to restore the status of the marquee event back to its golden years.
Running to Formula Holden regulations, the grid contained drivers from a mixture of different backgrounds. This included front-running drivers in the Australian Drivers' Championship, which also utilised Formula Holden cars. An array of local drivers were also entered, one of whom was former All Blacks player, Graham Sims. There were also three international drivers, which included Wouter van Eeuwijk from the Netherlands, Robert Lechner from Austria and Akihiro Asai from Japan, who had also been running in the Australian Drivers' Championship that season. [1]
The favourites heading into the event were Greg Murphy and Scott Dixon. Murphy had won the 1994 iteration of the event and by this stage was an established driver throughout the Australasian motor racing scene. Dixon was still in his formative years of racing but had won the national Formula First and Formula Ford championships back-to-back. He had also competed in the Australian Drivers' Championship the previous year, finishing third, and would go on to win the championship later this year.
Dixon once again proved his pace by securing the pole position, setting a time almost eight-tenths faster than the second-placed driver, Simon Wills. The Birrana Racing driver was regarded as a promising talent but compared to the likes of Dixon especially, had a disappointing season in British Formula Three and was thus never regarded as a favourite for the race. The preliminary race held on Saturday and Wills defied the critics by capatilising on a mistake from Dixon to take victory. Dixon had not only lost places to Wills off the start, but also to Murphy. Australian-based Kiwi Chris Staff spun on lap two, losing a bundle of positions while Dixon eventually wormed his way past Murphy at turn one a couple laps later. Dixon left Murphy behind but Wills was able to stabilise the gap and even with having to negotiate traffic every so often, never ceded position to the fast-charging Dixon. With a couple laps remaining, Dixon resigned himself to second place and Wills crossed to line 3.3 seconds ahead of his fellow Aucklander.
Two drivers - Lechner and Ross Rutherford - would be forced to withdraw from the race. Lechner owing to internal disputes with NRC Racing while Rutherford was thwarted by a lack of spare parts. Minutes before the start, light rain started to fall upon the circuit. This made track conditions quite slippery and resulted in Murphy and Asai spinning on the formation lap. Off the line, Dixon once again got a poor start and lost a bundle of positions. Wills shot through to the lead while van Eeuwijk scythed through to second place. The elation for the Dutchman was short-lived as he would be taken out of the race by Murphy at turn three on the first lap, with the Kiwi misjudging the track conditions. In the melee, Murphy fell right down the order while up the front, Dixon had worked his way up to Wills and passed him for the lead. Soon after, cars down the field began to drop out of the race. Sims had retired on lap four due to a faulty clutch while the Birrana car of Brenton Ramsay went out with a valve spring. Asai would once again be caught out by the conditions and retired from the race on lap 20.
Dixon had established an affirmative lead early on. However, as the race wore on, Wills began to rein him in. Feeling the pressure, Dixon ran wide at the first corner as Wills got to within one second of his lead. A couple corners later, Wills had taken the lead. Dixon, desperate to keep up, speared off the circuit just a couple corners later with the greasy track conditions catching him out. Once again, Dixon was forced to remain content with second place as, even without the mistake, Wills' pace was so absolute that, save for a mistake, the result was beyond doubt. Wills crossed the line to take victory with Dixon in second and Murphy a distant third.
Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Grid | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 35 | ![]() | SH Racing | 1:15.782 | 1 | ||
2 | 8 | ![]() | Birrana Racing | 1:16.633 | 2 | ||
3 | 22 | ![]() | Greg Murphy Racing | 1:17.093 | 3 | ||
4 | 12 | ![]() | Challenge Recruitment Racing | 1:17.475 | 4 | ||
5 | 7 | ![]() | Ralt Australia | 1:17.609 | 5 | ||
6 | 19 | ![]() | NRC Racing | 1:17.637 | 6 | ||
7 | 74 | ![]() | Chris Hocking Racing | 1:17.747 | 7 | ||
8 | 9 | ![]() | Birrana Racing | 1:18.570 | 8 | ||
9 | 6 | ![]() | 1:20.904 | 9 | |||
10 | 15 | ![]() | Sun Wipes Formula Racing Team | 1:22.161 | 10 | ||
11 | 24 | ![]() | Peters Racing | 1:22.355 | 11 | ||
12 | 69 | ![]() | Damien Digby Racing | 1:22.361 | 12 | ||
- | 28 | ![]() | Barshott Racing | no time | 13 | ||
Source(s): [2] | |||||||
Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Grid | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | ![]() | Birrana Racing | 34 | 48min 23.870sec | 2 | |
2 | 35 | ![]() | SH Racing | 34 | + 8.320 | 1 | |
3 | 22 | ![]() | Greg Murphy Racing | 34 | + 24.491 | 3 | |
4 | 7 | ![]() | Ralt Australia | 33 | + 1 lap | 5 | |
5 | 12 | ![]() | Challenge Recruitment Racing | 32 | + 2 laps | 4 | |
6 | 15 | ![]() | Sun Wipes Formula Racing Team | 31 | + 3 laps | 10 | |
7 | 69 | ![]() | Damien Digby Racing | 30 | + 4 laps | 12 | |
8 | 24 | ![]() | Peters Racing | 29 | + 5 laps | 11 | |
Ret | 74 | ![]() | Chris Hocking Racing | 20 | Spun off | 7 | |
Ret | 28 | ![]() | Barshott Racing | 19 | Retired | 13 | |
Ret | 9 | ![]() | Birrana Racing | 10 | Valve spring | 8 | |
Ret | 6 | ![]() | 4 | Clutch | 9 | ||
Ret | 19 | ![]() | NRC Racing | 0 | Spun off | 6 | |
Wth | ![]() | NRC Racing | Withdrawn | ||||
Wth | ![]() | Withdrawn | |||||
Fastest lap: Greg Murphy (Greg Murphy Racing) - 1:17.031 on lap 32 | |||||||
Source(s): | |||||||
Denis Clive Hulme was a New Zealand racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1965 to 1974. Nicknamed "The Bear", Hulme won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1967 with Brabham, and won eight Grands Prix across 10 seasons.
The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venues having been used since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. The race became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1985. Since 1996, it has been held at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, with the exceptions of 2020 and 2021, when the races were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, it was held in Adelaide.
Vernon John Schuppan is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.
Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.
Simon Peter Wills is a former racing driver who currently runs a graphic design business.
Gregory David Murphy is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first international Live show at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland from 12 to 15 February 2009, and again when the show returned in 2010.
David Walker was an Australian racing driver who drove for Lotus in the 1971 and 1972 Formula One World Championships.
Bradley Jones is an Australian former racing driver. Jones now acts as team co-principal with his brother Kim in the V8 Supercar racing team, Brad Jones Racing.
Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in the suburb of Springvale in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately 25 km (16 mi) south east of the city centre. Sandown is considered a power circuit with its "drag strip" front and back straights being 899 and 910 m long respectively.
Euromarque Motorsport Park is a permanent motor racing circuit owned and operated by the Canterbury Car Club Inc on land leased from the Christchurch City Council. It is located at 107 Hasketts Road in Templeton, 13-kilometre (8.1 mi) west of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was opened as Ruapana Park in 1963, and between 2004 and 2013 was known as Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park. Mike Pero joined the circuit as title sponsor from 2013–2023, as Mike Pero Motorsport Park. In the early parts of February 2023, the sponsorship deal was over, and Euromarque became the new title sponsor.
Kevin Reginald Bartlett, often known by his nickname "KB", is an Australian former open wheel and touring car racing driver who won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1968 and 1969, as well as the prestigious Bathurst 1000 in 1974. Bartlett was named in Wheels magazine's annual yearbook in 2004 as one of Australia's 50 greatest race drivers. He placed #15 on the list.
Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon is a motor sport circuit located in Feilding, New Zealand. It was built by the Manawatu Car Club in 1973 as a purpose-built course. In 1990 extra land was acquired and the circuit extension built, bringing Manfeild up to international standards. The circuit was renamed the Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon, in honour of former New Zealand Formula One driver Chris Amon, on 25 November 2016.
Teretonga is a 2.570 km (1.597 mi) motor racing circuit situated 8 km (5.0 mi) south-west of Invercargill, New Zealand. It is home of the Southland Sports Car Club. The circuit was established in 1957 and is the southernmost FIA-recognised race track in the world. It is also the country's oldest purpose-built venue.
Frank GardnerOAM was a racing driver from Australia. Born in Sydney, he was best known for touring car racing, winning the British Saloon Car Championship three times, and sports car racing driver but he was also a top flight open wheeler driver. He was European Formula 5000 champion, and participated in nine World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 July 1964. He scored no championship points. Gardner also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races and his results included a third placing at the 1965 Mediterranean Grand Prix at the Autodromo di Pergusa in Sicily, fourth in the 1965 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and third in the 1971 International Gold Cup at Oulton Park. He participated each year in the open wheeler Tasman Series held in New Zealand and Australia during the European winter, and shared the grids with the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jochen Rindt and won the New Zealand Grand Prix.
The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Series in the 1960s and 1970s. It is currently run as the signature race of the Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
The 1972 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race for cars complying with the Tasman Formula, which admitted both Formula 5000 and 2-litre racing cars. It was held at Sandown International Raceway, Victoria, Australia on 20 February 1972.
Leo Francis Geoghegan was an Australian racing driver. He was the elder of two sons of former New South Wales car dealer Tom Geoghegan, both of whom become dominant names in Australian motor racing in the 1960s. While his younger brother Ian "Pete" Geoghegan had much of his success in touring car racing, winning five Australian Touring Car Championships, Leo spent most of his racing career in open wheel racing cars.
The 1994 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Brabham regulations. The championship winner was awarded the 1994 CAMS Gold Star as the Australian Champion Driver. It was the 38th running of the Australian Drivers' Championship and the sixth to feature the Formula Holden / Formula Brabham category which had been developed during 1988. The championship began on 17 April 1994 at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 28 August at Oran Park Raceway after six rounds.
The 2000 Australian Drivers' Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of cars conforming to Formula Holden regulations. The title was contested over an 8-round, 16 race series with the winner awarded the 2000 CAMS Gold Star. The championship, which was promoted as the 2000 Holden Australian Drivers' Championship, was the 44th Australian Drivers' Championship and the 12th to be contested with Formula Holden or Formula Brabham cars.
The 2000 New Zealand Grand Prix event for open wheel racing cars was held at Pukekohe Park Raceway near Auckland on 2 December 2000. It was the forty-sixth New Zealand Grand Prix and was open to Formula Holden cars. This was the first time the marque event had been held at the Pukekohe circuit since 1991, and following the demolition of the circuit in 2023, it would also prove to be the last time the event would be held here.