Revved Up for ’06

2005 was an incredibly successful year for NZ motorsport, as TMC reports in its annual review. Two of the top three places in the world MX1 motocross championship were filled by New Zealanders, with Josh Coppins and Ben Townley finishing second and third respectively. Aucklander Wade Cunningham looks set to repeat fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon’s Indy Racing League success after winning the Menards Infiniti Pro title. 15-year-old Brendon Hartley netted the biggest deal ever by a NZ driver in Europe (NZ$700,000) with his selection to the Red Bull junior racing team – widely acknowledged as a transitionary step to Formula One. Last but not least, Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap (pictured) founded a NZ team franchise to compete in the A1 World Cup of motorsport series, a new event involving 30 countries developed by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum al Maktoum, a member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family. “I’ve always dreamed about getting involved with an overseas series,” said Giltrap in NZ’s Weekend Herald. “[This is] the World Cup of motorsport. A nation-against-nation contest created to test their best young drivers.”