The New Zealand Formula First Championship is an open-wheel racing championship that runs on Volkswagen engines and bodies. The introduction of the Formula Vee concept to New Zealand can be attributed to Barry Munro, an Officer in the New Zealand Army who constructed the country's inaugural Formula Vee. Commencing chassis design in 1966, Munro finalised the first mock-up by November of that year, with the vehicle being fully assembled by March 1967.

Notably, adherence to regulatory standards of the time required all racing cars to be registered, with the Munro Vee obtaining its initial registration on February 10, 1967. Munro's design prioritised affordability within the constraints of available technology. Notably, the nose cone was fashioned from a wool coat shaped over metal ribs and set with resin.

Throughout the 1967 season, Munro actively competed with the car, participating in various classes to bolster its visibility and generate interest in Formula Vee racing. Subsequently, Digby Taylor followed suit in constructing his own Formula Vee, leading to the organisation of the inaugural All-Formula Vee race.

Over the course of its 50-year history in New Zealand, Formula Vee has established itself as a prominent platform for driver development and compelling competition. Noteworthy alumni include Formula 1 and IndyCar drivers, as well as touring car champions. The New Zealand Formula First Championship has attracted a host of distinguished competitors throughout its existence, including renowned figures such as Scott Dixon, Brendon Hartley, Liam Lawson, Shane van Gisbergen, Mitch Evans, and Richie Stanaway.

History

On November 25, 1967, the inaugural Formula Vee race in New Zealand saw approximately six cars assemble at Levin, marking a significant milestone in the sport's history. Among the participants were notable figures such as Barry Munro, George Hetterscheid, Roy King, Digby Taylor, John Macey, Ivan Berry, Brian Yates, and Phil Deer, forming the grid for the inaugural race at Bay Park. The class swiftly gained traction, earning inclusion in prestigious events like the 'Rothmans National' meeting at Pukekohe.

Formula Vee continued to be used in motorsport while retaining core elements of its original regulations, including 1,200 cc (73 cu in) Volkswagen engine. Although the cars were developed over time, the category remained comparatively simple and low-cost. At the start of the 1998-99 season, the class was renamed Formula First to reflect its position as an entry level category within the motorsport development pathway.

Formula First TV Formula First TV, initially known as NZ Formula First on their YouTube channel, emerged as a platform for showcasing Formula First content, with Jordie Peters handling various production duties, including interviewing, filming, and editing race footage. The inaugural episode debuted on YouTube on October 24, 2015. Over a year and a half later, the first episode of Formula First TV premiered on May 6, 2017, featuring presenters Jonathan Morton and Sheridan Bonner. Both presenters continue in their roles, supplemented occasionally by guest presenters such as Callum Crawley and Conrad Clark.

Success stories

The New Zealand Formula First Championship is noted for its successful alumni. The class has been known for kick-starting professional careers, allowing competitors to learn the essentials of racing.

Scott Dixon became NZ's first 'junior driver', entering the championship at 12 years of age and winning the National Championship in his rookie season. Formula One driver, WEC Champion and Le Mans 24 hour winner Brendon Hartley was another driver who started their racing with Formula First in their early teens. Open wheeler Mitch Evans is another of those success stories the class has seen over the years.

The SpeedSport Scholarship, originally a partnership between Grant McDonald's SpeedSport magazine and Dennis Martin's Sabre Motorsport team has seen many of NZ's recent stars kick-start their careers in Formula First. The majority of the scholarships recipients have gone on to win championships and have produced some of the most recognisable names in Motorsport including 2016 Supercars champ Shane van Gisbergen, 3x NZGP winner and SuperGT champ Nick Cassidy as well as GP2 race winner and ADAC Formula 3 champ Richie Stanaway along with Formula One rookie Liam Lawson.

Current drivers' championship Pos. Driver MAN PUK HMP MAN MAN HMP TAU TAU Points 1 Reece Hendl-Cox 4 4 3 3 4 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 2 16 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1613 2 Chris Symon 1 1 1 1 3 Ret 2 2 2 6 7 5 5 5 1 2 2 2 3 6 11 4 2 2 1394 3 Billy Frazer 3 2 4 13 7 2 5 3 5 3 1 4 2 4 4 6 3 4 7 2 4 2 3 3 1347 4 Liam Foster 2 3 2 5 15 5 4 5 4 4 3 3 4 3 9 3 DSQ 3 2 3 3 3 Ret 4 1212 5 Amy Smith 7 5 7 4 5 4 3 6 6 7 5 7 7 8 8 4 4 5 10 9 9 6 5 6 1100 6 Ronan Murphy 6 7 6 7 8 11 8 7= 8 8 6 6 8 8 7 5 5 6 6 7 6 9 9 8 999.5 7 Thomas Boniface 5 Ret Ret 10 1 3 6 4 3 5 9 8 7 7 2 Ret Ret 11 5 4 5 5 4 5 985 8 Ron Carter 10 6 11 6 6 13 10 10 9 9 8 10 9 9 6 7 8 8 9 10 10 7 6 10 893 9 Nathan Sudiono 12 9 8 15 13 8 11 12 14 15 10 12 14 12 10 9 12 10 8 11 7 8 8 9 740 10 Brody McConkey DNP DNP DNP 2 2 Ret DNP DNP DNP 2 4 2 1 1 3 DNP DNP DNP 4 5 1 DNP DNP DNP 710 11 Bob Dillow DNP DNP DNP 9 11 7 9 9 10 DNP DNP DNP 10 13 14 8 7 7 11 12 12 16 11 11 585 12 Kyan Davie 11 12 9 Ret 10 6 Ret 14 13 11 14 DNS DNS 10 5 Ret 6 9 Ret 8 8 DNP DNP DNP 513 13 Rob Baker 17 16 15 Ret 18 16 13 15 15 17 16 17 15 15 17 12 11 13 19 18 20 17 16 17 462 14 Flynn Mullany 18 Ret 16 Ret DNS DNS 12 11 11 13 Ret 15 13 14 12 10 9 Ret 15 Ret 17 13 13 16 433 15 Louis Redshaw 16 10 14 Ret 12 10 DNP DNP DNP 12 12 9 11 11 13 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 10 7 14 417 16 Dave Scammell 13 15 12 8 14 12 Ret 13 12 DNP DNP DNP 12 Ret 11 DNP DNP DNP 13 14 18 DNP DNP DNP 345 17 Liam Nicholson DNP DNP DNP 11 15 15 DNP DNP DNP 16 15 Ret DNP DNP DNP 11 10 12 17 15 16 15 14 15 329 18 Taylor Hurst 8 14 5 14 DNS DNS 7 7= 7 Ret Ret 14 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 284.5 19 Andrew Tierney 14 13 13 12 16 14 DNP DNP DNP 16 13 16 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 14 Ret Ret DNP DNP DNP 238 20 Darren Henderson 15 11 10 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 14 Ret 13 Ret Ret 15 DNP DNP DNP 16 13 13 DNP DNP DNP 229 21 Graig Greenwood DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 10 11 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 12 Ret 14 14 15 12 219 22 Travis Day 9 8 17 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 12 12 7 191 23 Ian Foster DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 11 10 13 89 24 Barry Holden DNP DNP DNP Ret 9 9 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 72 25 Shaun Logan DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 16 16 15 DNP DNP DNP 60 26 Jarad Nicholson DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 18 17 19 DNP DNP DNP 54 Pos. Driver MAN PUK HMP MAN MAN HMP TAU TAU PointsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap Rookie

Past champions

SeasonChampion 1967–68 was not a national championship 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 Norm Lankshear 1975–76 Ian Hodge 1976–77 Donald Halliday 1977–79 Mick Scott 1978–79 Robert Lester MNZM 1979–80 Steve Cameron 1980–81 Roger Coles 1981–82 Chris Abbott 1982–83 Roger Coles 1983–84 Roger Coles 1984–85 Robert Lester MNZM 1985–86 Ross Symon 1986–87 Ross Symon 1987–88 Ross Symon 1988–89 Ross Symon 1989–90 Tim Natusch 1990–91 Chris Maxwell 1991–92 Dennis Martin 1992–93 Dom Kalasih 1993–94 Scott Dixon 1994–95 Robert Lester MNZM 1995–96 Dennis Martin 1996–97 Craig Greenwood 1997–98 Mike Rohloff 1998–99 Nick Luxford 1999–2000 David Payne 2000–01 Michael Shepherd 2001–02 Michael Shepherd 2002–03 Paul Butler 2003–04 Leo Francis 2004–05 Mark Russ 2005–06 Michael Shepherd 2006–07 Selby Allison 2007–08 Cliff Field 2008–09 Ian Foster 2009–10 Michael Shepherd 2010–11 Michael Shepherd 2011–12 Matt Higham 2012–13 Rowan Shepherd 2013–14 Rowan Shepherd 2014–15 Michael Shepherd 2015–16 Michael Shepherd 2016–17 Bramwell King 2017–18 Callum Crawley 2018-19 Reece Hendl-Cox 2019-20 Reece Hendl-Cox 2020-21 Chris Symon 2021-22 Chris Symon 2022-23 Chris Symon 2023-24 Chris Symon 2024-25 Chris Symon 2025-26 Chris Symon

Records Most TitlesRank DriverTitles 1 Michael Shepherd 7 2 Chris Symon 6 3 Ross Symon 4 4 Robert Lester, MNZM 3 Roger Coles 3 5 Rowan Shepherd 2 Dennis Martin 2 Reece Hendl-Cox 2 6 Callum Crawley 1 Bramwell King 1 Matt Higham 1 Ian Foster 1 Cliff Field 1 Selby Allison 1 Mark Russ 1 Leo Francis 1 Paul Butler 1 David Payne 1 Nick Luxford 1 Mike Rohloff 1 Craig Greenwood 1 Dom Kalasih 1 Scott Dixon 1 Chris Maxwell 1 Tim Natusch 1 Mike King 1 Donald Halliday 1 Ian Hodge 1 Norm Lankshear 1

References