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Classic and historic racing is where New Zealand's motorsport heritage comes out to play — genuine period race cars and lovingly restored road-racers competing (and being shown off) at circuits the length of the country. MotorSport New Zealand splits the discipline into two calendars: Historic (pure racing cars — single-seaters, sports racers and saloons with real competition pedigree) and Classic (production-based cars raced to period-correct specification).
The MG Classic 40th Anniversary Meeting (13–15 November 2026, Manfeild), NextGen Taupō Historic GP (15–17 January 2027, Taupō), George Begg Festival (19–21 March 2027, Teretonga, Invercargill) and NZIGP Legends of Speed (13–14 March 2027, Hampton Downs) headline the season. MotorSport NZ maintains the confirmed current listing on its own Historic page.
The Classic side runs through TACCOC's Hampton Downs meetings (Spring Classic, 3 October 2026, and Christmas at the Downs, 6 December 2026) and the Classic Motor Racing Club's programme at Levels near Timaru (Autumn Fling, 9 May 2026, and Brooklands, 12 September 2026), building to the South Island's marquee February weekend — the SKOPE Classic at Euromarque, the Classic Motor Racing Club's Southern Classic at Levels, and the Southland Sports Car Club's Classic Speedfest at Teretonga — before NZIGP's Spirit of ANZAC meeting at Taupō closes the season in April. Dates move year to year; MotorSport NZ's Historic page carries the confirmed listing.
Held every February at Euromarque Motorsport Park (Ruapuna) in Christchurch, the SKOPE Classic is the South Island's biggest historic race meeting — F5000s, classic touring cars and vintage sports cars sharing a weekend of racing.
Festival-style historic meetings are built around access — most let you walk the paddocks between sessions and talk to owners and drivers, which is rare at a modern race meeting. Check each event's own information for paddock access and gate pricing.
Historic and classic meetings are among the most approachable race days in NZ motorsport for a newcomer — open paddocks, no crowds to fight, and owners who are usually happy to talk about their cars. It's the easiest way to work out which era or class interests you before spending anything.
Most historic classes in New Zealand are organised around an owners' register rather than a single club — Formula 5000 NZ, Historic Formula Ford NZ, the Formula Junior Register, NZ Historic Muscle & Saloon Cars, the Historic & Vintage Racing Association NZ, NZV8's and others are all listed with contacts on MotorSport NZ's own Historic page. These registers are the entry point for advice on eligible cars, current class rules and where to find one for sale.
Historic and classic meetings run on club volunteers, the same as every other MSNZ-permitted event. It costs nothing, gets you trackside, and is one of the fastest ways to learn how a meeting actually runs before entering one.
Plenty of historic and classic owners use ordinary track days to shake down a car and build seat time before it ever wears a race number. See NZShift's Track Days category for organisers running sessions at circuits around the country.
Historic and classic racing in NZ runs under two separate regulators depending on the car and the event: MotorSport New Zealand (MSNZ) licenses Historic and Classic classes at its permitted circuit meetings under the National Sporting Code, while the Vintage Car Club of New Zealand (VCC) — the country's Historic Vehicle Authority — runs its own Historic Racing Licence for VCC-eligible vehicles at branch speed events. Which one applies depends on the meeting; check the event's own supplementary regulations.
Circuit racing, including Historic and Classic classes at MSNZ-permitted meetings, requires a minimum C Grade (National Race) competition licence. The path: join an affiliated car club, create a MotorSport Online profile, submit the application with a medical declaration and payment, then sit the C Grade exam (short, largely open-book, mainly safety-focused) with a Licence Examiner. Full detail is on MotorSport NZ's Race Licence page.
A Certificate of Description (COD) confirms a historic or classic car is technically accurate to its original competition-period specification, referenced against the Schedules and Groups of Appendix Six, Historic Competition. Some classes require a current COD to be eligible, and all NZRC Historic Class (Class 4) cars must hold one. Apply via MotorSport Online — MotorSport NZ publishes a COD Application Guide worth reading first to avoid extra charges.
Appendix Six covers the different flavours of eligibility — Schedule K for pre-1961 racing and sports cars, Schedule T&C for period production Sports, GT and Saloon cars (up to Group 4, post-1977 cars over twenty years old), Schedule CR for racing and "thoroughbred" cars, and Schedule RH. A car's period classification is generally set by the age of its engine, or by the era of its chassis, suspension or wheel/tyre technology if that's later — and once classified, only MotorSport NZ can reclassify it.
The Vintage Car Club — formed in Canterbury in 1946, headquartered in Christchurch with 36 branches nationwide — runs Historic Racing Licences of its own for VCC-eligible vehicles, renewed every five years, alongside a VCC Competition Log Book and a Vehicle Identity Card (VIC) for each car. VCC speed events (circuit or street racing, hillclimbs, bent sprints) run under Section 9 of the Club Manual, with a Steward appointed by the National Speed Steward at every meeting.
Historic and classic cars racing under MSNZ follow Appendix Six Schedule AA, which sets additional or alternative safety requirements specific to historic machinery — window and driver nets, safety rollbars and roll cages among them. Where Schedule AA doesn't specifically cover something, the general minimums in Appendix Two Schedule A apply instead. Always check current requirements directly with MotorSport NZ's Technical Department before building or buying a car.
The philosophy across the historic schedules is preservation, not performance: Schedule T&C, for example, defines the only allowable modifications for period production cars and explicitly bars technology that wasn't available in period. A car's classification is decided by the age of its engine block and head, or by later-period chassis, suspension or wheel/tyre technology if that's more advanced — reclassification only happens by MotorSport NZ order.
The Vintage Car Club groups its eligible vehicles by build date: Veteran (built before 31 December 1918), Vintage (1919–1931), Post Vintage (1932–1945), Post War (1946–1960) and Post 60 (1961–1980), plus a separate Historic Racing Vehicles category for cars at least 30 years old, and Period Specials (PS1/PS2) for cars built up from period components.
MotorSport NZ's Certificate of Description process includes an audit system to keep CODs accurate and current — read the COD Application Guide before applying to avoid extra charges, and expect your car's classification to be checked against Appendix Six's Schedules and Groups.
Governing body for Historic and Classic classes at MSNZ-permitted circuit meetings — licensing, Certificates of Description, and the Appendix Six technical schedules.
Email: admin@motorsport.org.nz
Phone: 04 815 8015 (Mon–Fri, 8:30am–5pm)
Address: 102A Kapiti Road, Paraparaumu 5032
New Zealand's Historic Vehicle Authority — Historic Racing Licences, vehicle eligibility grading, and 36 branches nationwide.
Phone: 03 366 4461 (National Office, Christchurch)
Web: vcc.org.nz
Runs the Brooklands, Autumn Fling and Southern Classic meetings at Levels, Timaru — the South Island's dedicated classic/historic racing club.
Web: classicmotorracingclub.nz
The Thoroughbred & Classic Car Owners Club, formed 1976 — runs the Spring Classic and Christmas at the Downs meetings at Hampton Downs.
Web: taccoc.co.nz
Owns and runs Teretonga Park, Invercargill — home of the George Begg Festival and SSCC Classic Speedfest.
Email: info@teretonga.org.nz
Phone: 03 213 0522
Most historic classes are organised around their own owners' register rather than a single club — Formula 5000 NZ, Historic Formula Ford NZ, the Formula Junior Register, NZ Historic Muscle & Saloon Cars and others. MotorSport NZ lists current register contacts on its Historic page.
Racing for period vehicles prepared to historic regulations — classes are grouped by era, from vintage machinery through to modern classics.
Some of the best — festival meetings offer open paddocks where you can walk among the cars and talk to owners, plus full days of racing.
Yes — with a MotorSport NZ licence and the car prepared to the relevant historic class safety standard. Historic racing clubs guide newcomers through eligibility.
The marquee historic festivals run through the summer season — every confirmed date appears in the listings above.
Everything from pre-war and 1960s single-seaters to muscle cars, classic saloons and Group A/C touring cars, grouped into era-appropriate grids.
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