Motorsport: Veteran Kenny Smith lines up for 47th NZ Grand Prix

Kenny Smith will contest his 47th NZ Grand Prix at the age of 76. Photo / Bruce Jenkins

Veteran Kiwi racer Kenny Smith will line-up for his 47th New Zealand Grand Prix this weekend at Manfeild at the ripe old age of 76.

Smith has secured a one-off drive for the Grand Prix meeting and will join the 15 other Toyota Racing Series drivers on the grid for the weekend's three races, culminating in the Grand Prix on Sunday.

One of New Zealand's greatest drivers and most well-known, Smith will race against kids young enough to be his grandsons - Kiwis Brendon Leitch and Reid Harker are the oldest drivers in the field at 22.

"It is terrific," Smith told The Herald. "I suppose I am lucky that I am fit enough to get in a car and do it. It isn't easy when you get older. At the end of the day I am competitive in a Formula 5000 car and all that but these cars are harder to drive. They are totally different to our older cars.

"I have no expectations – I am not in there to think I can win a Grand Prix. I'm not even thinking about running in the top five or six. If I am finishing, I'm on the road and doing another Grand Prix I am thrilled about it.

"My aim is to go out there and finish – I don't care whether I win or come last."

Smith has proven time and time again that age is not much of a factor with him as he's consistently beaten drivers much younger than he is. He has been driving competitively over summer and it wouldn't be unreasonable to think he could be competitive with some of the drivers in the field albeit that the cars are quite foreign to him.

"I ran one for eight or nine years in the original version of the car but I had never driven a paddle shift car ever," Smith said.

"I have done about 20 laps in this current car at Hampton Downs just to get a feel for it."
Rumours have circulated for some months that Smith might enter in a one-off drive and he admits that he has tried to go down that path in recent seasons.

"I have been thinking about it each year but circumstances have stopped us from getting a car but this year Toyota is happy to do a deal and put me in a car so that is quite exciting.

"Toyota has been pretty generous so it has been good."

Smith will run the number 47 on his car this weekend instead of his regular #11 – it will mark the 47th time he has contested in the famous race. Some of the biggest names in the sport have their name on the trophy – Smith himself on three separate occasions.

And the wily old racer thinks the stars could align for him in 2018.

"All of my wins have been 14 years apart and it has been 14 years since my last win but it probably isn't going to work like that," he laughed.

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