Last year, MotorSport New Zealand announced National Racing Group Promotions Limited (NRG) would promote the Premier Race Championship, which is headlined by the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Colloquially referred to as the summer series, the calendar began in late 2024 and continues through to mid-2025.
Quinn already has a vested interest in New Zealand’s racing scene by way of his three circuits – Hampton Downs, Taupo, and Highlands.
NRG’s appointment to promote the summer series came after a brief spell by D1NZ organiser Brendon White of NZ XMS Limited, whose tenure was brought to a premature end by MotorSport New Zealand.
With a short lead-in between the MotorSport New Zealand promotion tenure and NRG being appointed, the 2024/25 season is all about stability for Quinn.
The businessman of VIP Petfoods and Darrel Lea fame has high hopes for the New Zealand racing scene. Quinn has promised the sport a transparent review after his first season at the helm.
“I’m heavily invested in the sport over here. I do own three tracks here, and I’d have to say three of the best tracks here. However, the promoters have come and gone with what used to be called the summer series,” said Quinn.
“So we’ve taken it on this year because basically it’s half-broken. We want to fix it. We need to fix it.
“Then, at the end of this year once we’ve done all the things that we’ve said we’re going to do, we’re going to have a big talk with the sport and the competitors in New Zealand and expose almost an open-book policy so that they can see how the system works.
“The last guy that tried to promote it went under for about half-a-million bucks. Nobody wants to do that, nobody needs to do that, nobody should do that. It’s important that we all make it happen this year – and then at the end of it we can all share our views and have a plan going forward for the 2026 season.”
Across the ditch, there is no shortage of talent. It’s been less than a decade since F1 star Liam Lawson won on his Toyota Racing Series debut, and there are plenty more like him on the rise.
However, the scene is far from perfect. The sport suffered from a split in its touring car ranks in the early 2010s and hasn’t recovered since.
The shining light in New Zealand has been the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship, supported by the GR86 Championship.
Alongside it, there is a flourishing GT series for GT2, GT4, Ferrari Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars.
TA2 cars continue to grow in numbers in an all-comers-style V8 series, and a standalone series for the Trans Am machines has long been mooted as an ambition.
Asked what he sees as markers of success, Quinn replied, “I don’t have all the answers”, but explained that alignment and refinement were key elements.
“There are a few strong categories that are emerging and Toyota 86 has been here for a while,” Quinn explained.
“They look like they’re going to have a strong year this year. I’d like to see a close alignment with the Australian 86 series. I think we can somehow align our talents there.
“It’s got a great future, we just have to dial it in. It’s like a radio station, you have to dial it into the right frequency and then make it happen.
“At the moment, it’s been half-broken for two decades, and if it wasn’t for Toyota it would be basically club racing.
“Toyota is such a strong supporter of motorsport in New Zealand and we all need to recognise that.
“I promise that season 2026 will be a much improved… we’re just going to fix it. There you go. We’re going to try and fix it.”
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