Tony Quinn, Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park owner, and Josie Spillane, the parks COO have been chasing the rights to host the New Zealand Grand Prix ever since he set foot on New...
January 20, 2021Conrad Clark, yet another rising Kiwi star and the 2019 FIA Chinese Formula 4 Champion, is the final link in the chain for the 2021 New Zealand Grand Prix and the Castrol Toyota Racing Series....
January 20, 2021Christchurch based racer and entrepreneur Chris Vlok is the latest driver to sign up for the full 2021 Castrol Toyota Racing Series. Vlok, 28, will compete in all three rounds of this year’s...
January 16, 2021Versatile Kiwi racer Tom Alexander – the current Aussie SuperUtes champion – is the latest to confirm his spot in the forthcoming 66th New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs. The...
January 15, 2021Experienced racer turned Highlands Motorsport Park track operations manager and driver Damon Leitch is the latest in a growing list of high calibre Kiwi racers set to take part in the forthcoming...
January 14, 2021Kelly Racing V8 Supercar driver André Heimgartner is the latest racing ace to sign up for the 2021 New Zealand Grand Prix. Competing against generations of great drivers with a chance to put his...
January 9, 2021Invercargill’s Brendon Leitch will take the wheel of a Castrol Toyota Racing Series car one more time when he steps aboard to try and add his name to the New Zealand Grand Prix Trophy later...
January 8, 2021Murph joins the big names for 2021 New Zealand Grand Prix Following speculation that he would return to single seaters, Kiwi motorsport legend and television personality Greg Murphy has confirmed...
December 21, 2020Two time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Daniel Gaunt will be on the grid for the 2021 event and intends to be a force to be reckoned with when the lights go out and the big race gets underway on...
December 18, 2020Up and coming New Zealand single seater racer Kaleb Ngatoa is the latest driver to be confirmed for the 2021 Castrol Toyota Racing Series. The Marton-based racer will compete in the full three...
December 17, 2020With multiple international championship wins to his name, single seater and GT specialist Chris van der Drift will line up for the 66th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs in...
December 16, 2020Pukekohe racer and King’s College Auckland student Billy Frazer is the latest driver confirmed for the 2021 Castrol Toyota Racing Series. The up and coming racer is aiming to continue an...
December 15, 2020Bathurst winner and 2016 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen is the first big name wildcard driver secured for next month’s New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs. A test in the current FT60...
December 4, 2020Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park has been confirmed as host of the 66th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix in January – the first event of the three round 2021 Castrol Toyota...
November 25, 2020Mike Pero has confirmed his company’s ongoing commitment to motorcycle racing in New Zealand with the announcement today that both the Southern Classic and Motofest will proceed under the Mike...
April 30, 2020At Hampton Downs our number one priority has been and will always be the health and safety of our guests and team members. We believe it is important to remain calm but vigilant and do what we...
March 23, 2020It will be a welcome reunion of sorts for Kiwi motorcycling legend Aaron Slight when he throws a leg over a Honda RC45 at Hampton Downs this coming weekend (March 7-8). This Saturday and Sunday...
March 6, 2020Rangiora’s Avalon Biddle (Kawasaki ZX6R), determined to shake off her recent run of bad luck when she races at the Mike Pero MotoFest weekend at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park on March 7-8....
February 27, 2020The Spondon-Zegers TC 500 that belongs to German bike restorer Peter Abelmann, which will definitely be one of the many focal points at this year’s MotoFest at Hampton Downs. Old and new,...
February 19, 2020In yet another unique commercial relationship for netball, Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty has partnered with local venue, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and Events Centre, to support community...
February 7, 2019Radisich to race Touring Car winner at Hampton Downs It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since Paul Radisich won the Touring Car World Cup at Monza in 1993. The New Zealand driver won...
January 9, 2019Kiwi motorsport legends set for Hampton Downs event Stone Brothers Racing have been arguably one of New Zealand’s most successful sports teams of the last 25 years. The Warriors in the NRL and...
January 2, 2019DECEMBER 21, 2018: It’s the homecoming of a Kiwi hero that is sure to excite the motorbike community when the Mike Pero MotoFest repeats its spectacular celebration of motorcycling at Hampton...
December 21, 2018Legends of Bathurst return to Hampton Downs Dick Johnson and the Stone Brothers will headline the 2019 edition of Hampton Downs’ Legends of Bathurst event, taking place over the weekend of...
December 21, 2018Dick Johnson has had many memorable moments around Mount Panorama and the Australian legend is looking forward to reliving some of them at the Legends of Bathurst festival at Hampton Downs from...
December 21, 2018Bathurst winner confirmed for Hampton Downs event Steve Richards’ fifth win in the Bathurst 1000 in October meant that only five drivers have won more times around Mt Panorama and the popular...
December 21, 2018The Ferrari Challenge is one of the most spectacular one-make motor racing categories in the world and it’s coming to Hampton Downs this weekend. On April 14-15, the famous Italian car marque...
April 9, 2018Ferrari today announced that its Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Asia Pacific Series will take place on New Zealand’s iconic Hampton Downs circuit in April 2018. The four-day race schedule will...
March 16, 2018This weekend’s Mike Pero MotoFest is going to be a sensational motorcycling experience, the likes of which has never been seen before in New Zealand. The inaugural Mike Pero MotoFest (March...
February 28, 2018Two icons of Kiwi motorcycling greatness reunite for the inaugural Mike Pero MotoFest at Hampton Downs this weekend. Record nine-time New Zealand superbike champion Andrew Stroud and the...
February 27, 2018American road-racing legend Randy Mamola, the star attraction of the Mike Pero MotoFest at Hampton Downs on March 3-4, will be inducted to the Hall of Fame soon after this New Zealand...
February 16, 2018Hampton Downs could be classified as New Zealand motorsport’s “centre of excellence” when the Mike Pero MotoFest erupts there in the first weekend of March. A massive part of...
February 7, 2018Hampton Downs owner Tony Quinn has confirmed the 4Guys Autobarn Legends of Bathurst will become an annual event to be held in January every year. The festival, celebrating all things Bathurst,...
January 14, 2018“Gentleman Jim’ Richards proved a hit on and off the track on the opening day of the Legends of Bathurst festival at Hampton Downs. The seven-time winner of the Bathurst 1000 finished 3rd in the...
January 13, 2018Allan Moffat, John Goss and Fred Gibson are the latest Australian motorsport stars to be confirmed for this weekend’s 4Guys Autobarn Legends of Bathurst event at Hampton Downs. Between them,...
January 12, 2018‘Difficult and unrewarding’ are the words Paul Radisich uses to describe his relationship with Bathurst. Two second-place finishes in the Bathurst 1000 and two horrific crashes were the...
January 9, 2018John Bowe is the latest Australian racing legend confirmed for the NZ Festival of Motor Racing at Hamptons Downs from January 13-14. The 4Guys Autobarn Legends of Bathurst will celebrate all...
December 28, 2017Randy Mamola, the original ‘great entertainer’ of motorcycle Grand Prix racing will headline the Mike Pero MotoFest spectacular at Hampton Downs from March 3-4 next year. The American made his...
December 20, 2017Bathurst conqueror and V8 Supercar hero Jim Richards will be the focus on and off the track at the Hampton Downs’ annual Festival of Motorsport being held at the North Waikato circuit over the...
December 19, 2017Gaz Whiter confirmed his status as one of the best drifters in New Zealand with a dominant performance in ‘Mad Mike’s’ Summer Bash at Hampton Downs on Saturday afternoon. The Whangarei builder...
December 9, 2017The top 32 professional and amateur drifters in the country go head-to-head at Mazda Mad Mike’s Summer Bash at Hampton Downs this Saturday in the biggest drift event of the year. Among them will...
December 7, 2017One of the biggest prizes in New Zealand motorsport history will be won this weekend at Hampton Downs and it’s open to all comers. All entrants in the final round of 4 Guys Autobarn Fast &...
December 5, 2017Gaz Whiter hasn’t driven his car since he won the first Summer Bash earlier this year, but the four-time national champion is confident of putting on another good show at the second instalment of...
November 29, 2017For decades 4Guys Autobarn, which is now an official partner of Hampton Downs and sponosr of the 4 Guys Legends of Bathurst event, have been bringing some of America’s finest vehicles to New...
November 24, 2017Daniel ‘Fanga Dan’ Woolhouse is confident his new RTR Ford Mustang, the result of a collaboration with US drifting star Vaughn Gittin Jr., will be ready for Mad Mike’s Summer Bash on December 9....
November 22, 2017Thirty-two of the best drifters in the country will go head-to-head at MAZDA ‘Mad Mike’s’ Summer Bash at Hampton Downs on December 9. “At the first Summer Bash in February we had a Top 16...
November 9, 2017Kiwi drivers finished first and second in this afternoon’s Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 with Dom Storey and Peter Hackett claiming the win ahead of the Australian Endurance...
October 29, 2017John Martin has handed the Mega Racing team pole position for the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 thanks to a storming lap in the Top 10 Shootout. Martin and co-driver Liam...
October 29, 2017John Martin and Liam Talbot will start from pole position in the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 on Sunday afternoon after they won today’s Top Ten Shootout. The Porsche pair...
October 28, 2017The Mega Racing Porsche duo of Liam Talbot and John Martin will start this afternoon’s Top 10 Shootout as the last runner after recording the best combined time in today’s two qualifying sessions...
October 28, 2017Matt Halliday showed no sign of jetlag around Hampton Downs this afternoon. The California-based Kiwi and former A1GP racer set the fastest time in the opening practice session for the Laser...
October 27, 2017The CAMS Australian Endurance Championship races into Round 3 of the 2017 season at the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 this weekend (October 28 & 29). Having crossed the...
October 26, 2017The official entry list for this weekend’s Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 has been confirmed and there’s a strong contingent of Kiwi drivers in what doubles as the penultimate...
October 26, 2017For the last ten years, Andrew Waite has watched the guys he grew up racing against in go-karts go on to bigger and better things. Brendon Hartley, Shane van Gisbergen, Earl Bamber and Richie...
October 26, 2017Australian GT race winner Fraser Ross will join forces with McLaren factory driver Alvaro Parente for the final two rounds of the 2017 Australian Endurance Championship. The pair will share...
October 25, 2017California-based Kiwi driver, Matt Halliday has a motor racing resume to be proud of. He’s best known for his exploits in Black Beauty in the A1GP Series but the 38-year-old has also driven with...
October 20, 2017Hampton Downs is offering arguably the richest prize in New Zealand motorsport history to celebrate the launch of the new Fast & Furious Racing format at the Laser Plumbing & Electrical...
October 18, 2017Denis Withy is the owner of Laser Electrical Papakura and he’s also the proud owner of this stunning 1970 Boss Mustang 302. Like many Laser members, Withy is looking forward to the Laser Plumbing...
October 17, 2017Mike Eady has probably done more laps around Hampton Downs than anyone else. Even so, the owner of TrackTime Driving Academy is excited about the opportunity to race on the international circuit...
October 5, 2017Motorsport isn’t the first thing most people would associate with the trendy Auckland suburb of Ponsonby. Yet just off the main drag is the headquarters of International Motorsport, one of...
September 28, 2017Motorsport’s version of Rugby Sevens and Twenty20 Cricket is set to be launched at the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 on October 28-29. Fast & Furious Racing is a brand new...
September 22, 2017Jaxon Evans is the latest young Kiwi driver to make a name for himself overseas. The Australian-based Kiwi, who only turns 21 next week, has been turning heads in Australia in recent months with...
September 14, 2017New Zealand’s best drifters will return to Hampton Downs on December 9 for the second edition of Mad Mike’s Summer Bash. Organised by ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett, the first Summer Bash at Hampton Downs...
August 29, 2017Motorsport in New Zealand has landed a massive coup with Hampton Downs Raceway set to host a 12 hour race next year as part of the new Asia Pacific GT Series. Category organisers SRO (Stephane...
July 29, 2017It’s still a few months away but Australian based Kiwi driver, Steven Richards is already looking forward to this year’s Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Downs 500 on October 28-29....
July 6, 2017With a new format and a new naming rights sponsor the return of the Australian GT Championship to Hampton Downs looks set to be one of the big events of this year’s motorsport calendar. Laser...
May 25, 2017ORGANISERS of the ever-popular New Zealand Festival of Motorsport have confirmed the date for the 2018 event at Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park. Next year’s event, which will be...
March 12, 2017Toyota owners will get a rare opportunity to drive their pride and joy on the Hampton Downs full international race circuit, when the annual Toyota Festival is held there on Saturday 1 April....
March 9, 2017Gaz Whiter made a dramatic return to drifting to take out Mad Mike’s Summer Bash at Hampton Downs on Saturday afternoon. The four-time New Zealand drift champion won his last title in 2014. Since...
February 18, 2017One of the biggest drift events ever held in New Zealand has attracted one of the biggest names in the sport from the United States. Jarod De Anda will man the microphone at Mad Mike’s...
February 1, 2017This weekend’s NZ Festival of Motor Racing at Hampton Downs belonged to Ken Smith but next year the Waikato circuit will celebrate all things Bathurst. Hampton Downs owner Tony Quinn is excited...
January 22, 2017Four wins out of five races in three different cars — not a bad afternoon’s work for Ken Smith, the guest of honour at this weekend’s NZ Festival of Motor Racing at Hampton Downs. This year’s...
January 21, 2017Frank Lyons was at Silverstone in 1977 when James Hunt won the British Grand Prix in a McLaren M26 F1. “If you’d told me back then that I would own James Hunt’s car one day I’d have said there...
January 20, 2017Drifting has been good to Sky Zhao. He left his home in China 16 years ago to finish high school in New Zealand. A degree in computer science at Auckland University followed but while he excelled...
December 22, 2016‘The Kenny Smith Scrapbook’ was launched last night and it’s a great collection of stories and pictures documenting the remarkable life of a remarkable man. A phrase on the front cover of the...
December 14, 2016Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, Mazda and New Zealand drift superstar ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett have joined forces to bring you the biggest drift event of 2017 – Mad Mike’s Summer Bash! Whiddett has...
December 7, 2016The countdown is on for the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing which will be held at Hampton Downs from January 20-22. This year the festival celebrates one of the legends of New Zealand...
December 7, 2016[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]James Duckworth secured a maiden Aussie Racing Cars title at Hampton Downs but it was Charlotte Poynting who stole the show. A lot of pressure was loaded onto...
November 3, 2016Less than a week after the first Hampton Downs 101, circuit owner Tony Quinn was reflecting on an outstanding weekend of racing after 18 months of hard work. “We had a great weekend and the...
November 3, 2016There was a thrilling finish to the first Hampton Downs 101 with Supercars driver David Russell snatching the win from South Auckland’s Graeme Smyth in the closing laps. Smyth looked set for the...
October 30, 2016Australian driver David Russell posted the quickest time of the day in this afternoon’s Top Ten Shootout to claim pole position for tomorrow’s Hampton Downs 101. Russell clocked 1:30.80s in the...
October 29, 2016The first official practice of the Hampton Downs 101 played out under blue skies at the North Waikato race track. Twenty-four cars took to the track for two practice sessions ahead of qualifying...
October 28, 2016Rob McCormack from Christchurch has no regrets about splashing out $26,000 at a charity auction for three hot laps in Tony Quinn’s Aston Martin Vulcan. The real estate agent from Christchurch...
October 28, 2016Trass Family Motorsport (TFM) is one of just a few New Zealand teams competing in the Hampton Downs 101 and they’re hoping to build on what has been an incredible domestic season in endurance...
October 27, 2016Australian broadcaster Grant Denyer is better known for his television career than his prowess behind the wheel, however the host of Australian game show Family Feud, has always been a passionate...
October 24, 2016Craig Lowndes, Australia’s most popular racing driver will turn high-speed chauffeur in Tony Quinn’s $4.3 million Aston Martin Vulcan at the Hampton Downs 101 next weekend (October 28-30)....
October 20, 2016A world class field is headed to Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park for the first of two weekends of GT racing in New Zealand. The Hampton Downs 101 (October 29-30) is the third and...
October 19, 2016Clark Proctor is living the dream. The Howick entrepreneur sold his scrap metal business, Metalman last year freeing up more time for his other passion, motorsport. Proctor has had a long career...
October 18, 2016Greg Murphy and ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett are two of the big name New Zealand drivers confirmed for the Hampton Downs and Highlands 101 but there are a couple of Australian based-Kiwis who are excited...
October 18, 2016Here’s our latest WTF moment, where Mitch murders a much-loved classic. We promise Mitch is NOT part of the live entertainment at the Hampton Downs 101! Post a 1-2 minute video clip of your best...
October 14, 2016Hampton Downs is proud to announce that the first ever Hampton Downs 101 will be broadcast live on free-to-air television in New Zealand in association with TV3 and TaxRefunds.co.nz. On Sunday,...
October 14, 2016The Aussie Racing Cars are one of the fastest and most affordable classes in Australia and are regularly voted the most popular race category at events in Australia. North Island motorsport fans...
October 14, 2016Here’s our latest WTF moment (starring Tony and Mitch) as we pull out all the stops to prepare for the Hampton Downs 101 at the end of October. Post a 1-2 minute video clip of your best WTF...
October 13, 2016Motorsport in a motorhome is a great experience and is very popular at major events all over the world. Just ask Wayne Palleson. As the owner of Iconic Motorsport Adventures, Wayne has been to...
October 13, 2016We’ve had a few WTF moments as we pull out all the stops to prepare for the Hampton Downs 101 at the end of October. Post a 1-2 minute video clip of your best WTF moment (minus the F-word...
October 13, 2016New Zealand motor racing superstar Greg Murphy is set to return to the Australian GT grid for the Hampton Downs 101 at the end of October and the Highlands 101 in November. Murphy will line up...
September 21, 2016Businessman, racer and track owner Tony Quinn believes Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park is the luckiest race circuit in the country. “Think about it; you have an international-level...
September 13, 2016Over the Tasman, GT racing has seen a massive resurgence during the last couple of years and race track owner Tony Quinn is bringing the sport to a wider New Zealand audience. Australian GT...
September 13, 2016‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett will swap his drift car for a McLaren 650 GT3 when he makes his circuit racing debut in the inaugural Hampton Downs 101 on October 30. The new event at the Waikato circuit is...
September 12, 2016Kiwi racing driver Shane Van Gisbergen has nominated Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell as his favourite track in the world. The young Kiwi Red Bull Racing V8 star has clocked up some serious...
August 22, 2016No New Zealander has won more national championships than Craig Baird. The 46-year-old has fashioned a superb racing resume across a number of different categories during a career approaching...
August 15, 2016Taking to the newly extended Hampton Downs circuit in the way he knows best, V8 racer Greg Murphy commentates a hot-lap of the track while behind the steering wheel....
August 3, 2016He’s worked with chocolate, RJ’s licorice, motorsports, pet food; he’s the multi-million dollar businessman spending large in New Zealand who you’ve probably never heard...
August 1, 2016Almost exactly halfway between Auckland and Hamilton, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park sits atop Waikato swampland, carved out of steel, concrete and asphalt. When it’s finished, it’ll...
July 31, 2016NAME: Gerald Trass FROM: Masterton MOTORSPORT BACKGROUND: I have been a motorsport fan since I first watched go-karts at Avondale in the late 1960’s. I enjoyed going to Pukekohe when the Falcon...
July 20, 2016A mere stone’s throw from both Auckland and Hamilton is a place that you may well have driven past and written off as just another racetrack and until recently you’d have been right. Although it...
July 14, 2016He has more Facebook followers than Sonny Bill Williams, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter or even Steven Adams – combined. In fact Auckland’s Mad Mike Whiddett has more Facebook followers...
July 14, 2016Tony Quinn is the multi-millionaire owner of Highlands Motorsport Park and Hampton Downs Motorsport Park and has just recently returned from contesting the famous Pikes Peak Hill Climb in...
July 7, 2016The new, improved Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park will reopen at the end of October after a $25 million upgrade. The Hampton Downs 101 is a new event featuring some of the world’s...
June 9, 2016Motorbike enthusiasts will get unprecedented access to all circuits at Hampton Downs through its newly announced MotoHD initiative. This brand new concept, which supersedes Playday for bikes at...
May 20, 2016Fast, exciting and affordable – the perfect formula that is NRC or NZ Racing Cars. The NZ series was launched recently and has already attracted a good deal of interest. The series mirrors the...
April 12, 2016Sunday the 13th brought the return of the prestigious Roycroft festival back to Hampton Downs for their annual rewind into history to celebrate the history of motorsport. The theme this year was...
March 13, 2016The series finale of both the South Island and North Island endurance series’ took place at Hampton Downs with some of the country’s finest cars competing for their national crowns and also...
March 12, 2016The first weekend of March brought the New Zealand Superbike Championship to Hampton Downs for the final round of the championship. With all the championships up for grabs it was always going to...
March 8, 2016Auckland Car and Motorcycle Love was in the air as we had a full weekend of car and bike racing action over Valentine’s weekend. It was the Auckland Car Club up first on the Saturday with a full...
February 14, 2016Construction Update January has been another month of continuous work and improvements to not only the grounds but the facilities we over on site to drivers and spectators. The new lighting...
January 29, 2016
