Abandoned racetracks: Wellington street circuit

While Adelaide hosted the Formula 1 circus in October 1985, it was actually the Kiwis who kicked off the temporary circuit phenomenon Down Under nine months earlier with their ‘round the docks’ Nissan Sport 500 at Wellington.
Yes, we know that racing on the streets dates back to the sport’s earliest days and enjoyed a post-war revival courtesy of ‘round the houses’ events. But what we are specifically referring to is the modern ‘concrete canyon’ variant that, since 1985’s successful double act, has spawned street racing festivals down under (with varying degrees of success), in Surfers Paradise, Canberra, Hamilton, Townsville, Homebush and Newcastle.

Now, we can’t see Canberra’s parliamentary triangle course or Hamilton’s equally tight layout (not to mention the controversial Newcastle, where overtaking was virtually impossible, and which in any case was really a wholly inappropriate venue, with the track situated barely a metre away from the front doors of some residential homes) earning guernseys here in Sacred Sites. However, it is important that we dip our lids to the venue that returned big time international touring car racing back to New Zealand.
It was a circuit that, initially at least, used a combination of concrete blocks, Armco, shipping containers and buildings (!) as crash barriers. Those Kiwis are nothing if not resourceful... Tractor tyres were also used liberally to mark the waterside circuit’s hairpin and to stop drivers cutting corners.
Kiwis often claim to be a step ahead of Aussies – and not only because the sun rises over the land of the long white cloud before it shines on browner pastures this side of the ditch.
Turns out they were ahead of us, because that first event, on January 27, was also the first all-Group A race in these parts. It kickstarted 11 years of ‘wharfare’ and was such a hit in its early years, that it was used twice in 1987! It was undoubtedly New Zealand’s highest profile motor race in that era.
However, Wellington and New Zealand’s experience highlights to Aussie race fans that there’s no guarantee the street race era will last forever.

Wellington’s street race era began 30 years ago, in January 1985, with Dick Johnson leading the early laps in a local XE Falcon

History 101

Nine months before F1’s inaugural fang around Adelaide, Wellington hosted the first of a dozen dockside dust-ups in the Kiwi capital. This was a bid to draw attention to the windy city’s delights and improve its image.
The event was the brainchild of Ian Gamble and Kerry Powell of the Auckland-based Strathmore Group, which had fingers in an assortment of pies, including publishing and sports promotion.
There were several reasons the long-time motorsport enthusiasts hatched a plan for an international motor racing for Wellington and not the more populous Auckland. The capital had a compact nature with a distinct central/social hub, unlike sprawling Auckland, and it also lacked big time sporting events as competition for the potential spectator dollar. Wellington’s local authorities were more receptive to the idea than their bigger city counterparts, as the city sought to take advantage of its attractive harbour-side location, which, in the mid 1980s, was still blighted by its industrial past.
The logical choice of category for the inaugural event was the new international Group A class that was in the build-up phase in both New Zealand and Australia.
That inaugural waterfront event in 1985, told in detail in AMC #60, was an instant hit. The Nissan Sport 500 was won by local Robbie Francevic and Belgian enduro specialist Michel Delcourt in a Volvo 240 Turbo, opening fans’ eyes to the Swedish Valiant’s potential under the newly adopted rules.
So began the Wellington event’s propensity for tossing up surprises and quirky outcomes.
The flying brick’s success may have had touring car traditionalists turning in their graves, but Holden’s victory the following year, courtesy of the unlikely combo of Peter Brock and Allan Moffat, had Ford fans reaching for the razor blades. Especially as Brock and Moffat’s VK Commodore led home Ford-spearhead Dick Johnson. DJR’s familiar green Mustang was repainted in the black JPS livery usually associated with BMW and Lotus, adding to event’s oddball flavour.