Top Drivers put their names to Formula Racing NZ

Formula Racing New Zealand is proud to announce that some of New Zealand’s greatest motorsport icons are lending their names to the series trophies for the upcoming 2025/26 season.

The trophies up for grabs include:

• The Scott Dixon Trophy – Overall Series Winner

• The Kenny Smith Trophy – Formula Atlantic/Pacific Class Winner

• The Shane van Gisbergen Trophy – FT50 Class Winner

• The Brendon Hartley Trophy – FT40 Class Winner

“We all know New Zealand punches well above its weight on the international motorsport stage,” say the series coordinators. “To have the support of drivers who’ve reached the very top of their disciplines is an incredible endorsement of what we’re building — a platform for emerging talent to gain vital experience in wings-and-slicks machinery before taking on the world.”

The four names chosen for the trophies aren’t just legends — three of them got their own start in these very cars:

Brendon Hartley raced in the inaugural 2005/06 TRS season in an FT40, winning the very first race here, before heading overseas to compete in Formula Renault and then to the pinnacle of Motorsport, Formula 1 while also winning Le Mans multiple times .

Shane van Gisbergen was runner-up in the 2006/07 TRS season in an FT40 before launching his stellar career in Australian Supercars, winning the Nz Grand Prix and on to NASCAR.

Kenny Smith, a New Zealand Grand Prix and Gold Star winner, has raced extensively in FT40s and FT50s since the TRS began in 2005 — and this season, he’ll be back behind the wheel of the same Swift DB4 Formula Pacific he used to take the 1991 NZ Grand Prix.

Scott Dixon’s rise to Indy car championship dominance may not have involved TRS or Formula Pacific, but his career was launched in Formula Holden, the premier New Zealand and Australian single-seater category bridging the gap in the late 1990s.

“These names are instantly recognisable to every Kiwi racing fan,” add the coordinators. “Their careers are proof that young New Zealand drivers can take on the world — and win. We hope their success will inspire the next generation aiming to follow in their footsteps.”