Foundation:
The Thoroughbred & Classic Car Owners Club (TACCOC ) was founded on the 20th of May 1976. It was registered as an incorporated society in October of that year, and affiliated to MANZ, now Motorsport New Zealand, early in 1977. The Club Patron was Les (Pop) McLaren.
Aims:
- To preserve and promote the sporting fellowship of like-minded enthusiasts for cars deemed by the Committee to be Classic or Thoroughbred.
- To maintain affiliation with Motorsport New Zealand Incorporated and to abide by its rules and those of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile.
Early Activities:
- Sunday, 5 September 1976
The first event: a Trial on commencing at the Sunken Gardens in Cornwall Park, and finishing with a smorgasbord meal at Windsor Park, Mairangi Bay, at a cost of $5 per head.
- 7 November 1976
TACCOC Concours at Totara Park, Manurewa. 29 cars and 58 people present.
- 21 November 1976
Corban’s Vineyard: tour and catered barbecue lunch. 52 attended.
- 18 December 1976
Christmas function at The Diamond Chinese restaurant.
Classic Racing:
February 1977: TACCOC’s first sprint meeting held at Bay Park Raceway. The permit limited us to dual sprints with a maximum of four cars on the track at any one time. Noted in the Minutes of 21 March 1977 was the resolution to set up a TACCOC “Register of Historic Racing Cars”.
There followed a pattern of social events interspersed with classic race events, trials and gymkhanas.
The Bay Park and, subsequently, Taupo and Pukekohe track meetings were building from dual sprints to triple sprints and pursuit sprints as our members were gradually introduced to classic racing.
The first official Thoroughbred & Classic Racing Regulations, Schedule K, was written by TACCOC with assistance from the RAC and Trevor Birch from MANZ. Adopted by MANZ at their 1978 conference and AGM.
The first TACCOC Whenuapai Wings & Wheels event was held on 26 February 1984 with over 200 cars entered. It was a great success and rapidly grew to become the largest motor sport event held in New Zealand at that time, with over 20,000 spectators on numerous occasions. These Whenuapai events raised many thousands of dollars for charity over those years and established a tradition that ended when the RNZAF closed the airfield to motor-sport events in 2000.
The concept for Regularity Trials, now called Classic Trials, was introduced to New Zealand motorsport in 1998 by TACCOC, along the basic guidelines used in similar events seen in Australia. This now provides a low-level introduction to circuit driving, without the stresses and requirements of full racing.
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