2002 New Zealand Grand Prix
The 2002 New Zealand Grand Prix was an open wheel racing car race held at Teretonga Park, near Invercargill on 13 January 2002. This event marked the first time the New Zealand Grand Prix was run using Formula Ford machinery. It also served as the fourth round of the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship and was held over two 18-lap segments.
The race was won by Fabian Coulthard in dominant fashion. The podium was completed by the two Team USA Scholarship drivers, Bryan Sellers and A. J. Allmendinger.
Race report
Coulthard was virtually untouchable in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship that season, having won every race in the series up to that point. In Teretonga, he continued that form by qualifying fastest in provisional qualifying and then topping the timesheets in the top-ten shootout session; both by some margin. Veteran Ken Smith was the closest competitor followed by Team USA Scholarship driver, Sellers. The Team USA Scholarship drivers of Sellers and Allmendinger were flown in to New Zealand a few days beforehand as part of a program organised by Jeremy Shaw and run by Kiwi John Crawford.Unlike previous iterations of the event, the cars used for the marquee event were not equipped with fuel tanks large enough to cover the full distance of the race. Thus, the race was split up into two 18-lap segments, with the cars refueled in between. Any other modifications made to the cars in this time were prohibited. The second part of the race was then started under safety car. Coulthard led the opening portion of the race from Sellers, Allmendinger, Nicolas Ross, Simon Gamble, Simon Richards and Smith.
In the second portion of the race, Allmendinger, Ross and Gamble came to blows at turn one which forced Ross to climb back up the order and threw Gamble out of the race. Brady Kennett, winner of the 1995 event, struggled with oil pressure and would eventually have to settle for eleventh place. One of the biggest movers of the field was Nelson Hartley, brother of Formula One driver Brendon, who had climbed from 29th on the grid to finish sixth. Of all the cars however, it was Coulthard who reigned supreme. Taking the chequered flag to win the Grand Prix nearly four seconds ahead of Sellers, completing the race in just under an hour. Allmendinger recovered from his conflict with Ross and Gamble to take a consolatory third.