MATOS Formula Libre & NZ Sports Cars

MATOS Formula Libre NZ Sports Cars Fantastic round of the MATOS Formula Libre & NZ Sports Cars last weekend, epic battles throughout the field. I know you were all involved in great tussles of your own and there was some intense scraps going on throughout the field. From the commentary box it was very hard not to concentrate on the fight at the front between the two late model Juno’s and the two Formula Atlantics. The last race of the weekend turned out to be an epic scrap between Kenny Smith & Tony Quinn and the crowd loved it. From a promotors point of view this was marketing gold with Kenny being held in such high regard and Tony being the circuit owner and promoter of the meeting I couldn’t have wished for a better story. I can’t wait to see what Adam Jones from The Fast Files produces for this one, I bet it will get a huge amount of hits on line and give our sponsors some great exposure.

Very sad to see the demise of John Ryall on Friday with a serious fire on board the Juno and I know John suffered some smoke inhalation injury but he was at the track on Saturday so that was good to see. On that note a huge thank you to John Ryall from MATOS, Gary Rush from GDR Plasterboard Services and Richard Kelly from Atomise Limited and Avid Elite Solutions for your support of the Formula Libre this season.

For those the wondered how we allocate the points please see below and the points to date.

Tasman Revival at Taupo was 25, for first, 20 for second, 15 for third, 14 for fourth, 13 for fifth and one point less all the way down to last place. For non-finishers it is one point less than the last running car.

Legends of Bathurst at Hampton was 50, for first, 40 for second, 30 for third, 28 for fourth, 26 for fifth and two points less all the way down to last place. For non-finishers it is two points less than the last running car.

The final at the Motor Cup at Hampton will be 100, for first, 80 for second, 60 for third, 56 for fourth, 52 for fifth and four points less all the way down to last place. For non-finishers it is four points less than the last running car.

The current points standings are as below:

Drivers Name

Make

TOTAL

David Glasson

Juno

194

Gary Rush

Swift

115

Nicholas Barker

ARES

108

Tony Quinn

Reynard

104

Jeff Sharp

Formula Suzuki

Kenny Smith

Swift

Robert Hulme

Nemesis

Geoff Harriman

Ralt

Gavin Aleksich

Mondiale

Dean Mc Carroll

Juno

Richard Kelly

Juno

Ron Wilkin

Elden

Warwick Mortimer

Mclaren

Peter Boel

Lotus

David Banks

Steve Sharp

Tiga

Martin Lucas

Anton Aalders

AP Race Cars

Antony Barker

Reynard Inverter

Chris Watson

Gardos

Pete De Joux

Mission

John Mines

JRM

Phil Foulkes

Trident

Kurtis Raymond

Chris Fraser

Chris Prout

Radical Clubsport

Tony Curruthers

Swift

Geoff Bogue

Graeme Cameron

Alan Barker

Juno

Grant Tolley

Dome

Andy Drummond

Alfa

My apologies to David Glasson at the prize giving. It had been decided before the prize giving commenced that only the winners would have an opportunity to speak on the mic otherwise it would have gone on for ages. When it came to the MATOS formula Libre presentation, Tony Quinn had to leave early to catch a plane back to Australia so Josie stepped up to accept Tony’s trophy. I felt it was the correct thing to give Josie the opportunity to let everyone know why Tony could not be there. Unfortunately as I was trying to work out the next set of awards I subconsciously accepted Josie’s session at the Mic as that of the winner and moved straight on to the next category. Luckily the girls pulled me up and I did announce the trophy and medal to David that was presented by John Bowe. As you can see from the points Tally David is doing a great job and proves banking points with consistency is the way to go. Well done David and all the best for the rest of the series it is up to all the others to catch you.

Finally this coming weekend there is a NON points race for Formula Libre at the HRC Tasman Revival meeting at Hampton Downs. For those of you that want some extra race miles to get yourselves tuned up for the final or want to sort out gremlins and car set up this your opportunity. Got HRC’s web site and follow the link to the on line entry.

John Tomlin

MATOS Formula Libre Co-ordinator

Cel 021 759 820

Formula Libre is pleased to have MATOS is the naming rights partner for the Formula Libre summer series and we are proud to have this amazing innovative brand join us. MATOS Monitoring is a Real Time data logging and critical alerting service. Additionally and in relation to the Formula Libre Series MATOS is also the manufacturer of the new MATOS sports car which sports either a Honda 2.0 Litre VETEC motor or a 3.5 litre For Duratec V6.

Formula Libre is a form of single seater and sports car racing allowing a wide variety of historical types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the opportunity for some compelling driving performances against superior machinery. The name translates to "Free Formula".

From the first New Zealand Grand Prix in 1950 to the Start of the Tasman Formula, the NZGP was run as Formula Libre. We had the world’s best drivers coming down under to race here in our summer which of course was the northern winter. They would bring their cars from the previous F1 season with them and selling them to the locals upon departure. This is where you would see the likes Jack Brabham & Bruce McLaren in the Latest Cooper T53 F1 cars in the same race as Ralph Watson in the booming Lycoming Special with its 4,733 cc four cylinder aircraft engine.

This is what the MATOS Formula Libre is all about – a series that aims to bring together a whole host of seriously fast single seater and sports racing cars – from ... Home built 'specials' showcasing NZ engineering and ingenuity are also eligible. Add in to this mix Kenny Smith, New Zealand’s most experienced and still one of the fastest race drivers against the likes of young hard charger James Watson also in a Swift DB4 Formula Atlantic and the spectacle will be outstanding. To spice things up further throw into this mix a fleet of Juno and Radical prototype sports cars as well as some NZ built cars which are on a similar pace the Formula Atlantics and then through in Brett Willis F5000 based Can Am car and the racing will be at the top level.

MATOS and the Formula Libre group hope you enjoy the spectacle.

John Tomlin

Series coordinator

Link to Video explain the Matos Formula Libre series

https://youtu.be/LI7n2VmZEbY