Grand racer takes to track

SAM BAKER/Manawatu Standard

BELTED IN: John Bellamore, left, and Darrell Glen get ready to test drive a Maserati 250F as Frank Radisich, right, looks on.

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A machine heralded as the greatest Grand Prix car of all time has been given its first outing in more than 40 years – at Feilding's Manfeild circuit.

The Maserati 250F was raced by New Zealand motorsport legend Chris Amon as a teenager and will be a star attraction at the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild in a week.

The single-seater has been refurbished and is now worth millions of dollars.

Yesterday, Southward Collection restoration manager John Bellamore had a drive at Manfeild to blow out the cobwebs.

"We just needed a couple of laps to make sure everything is working as it should," he said.

"The car hasn't been run for some years and it hasn't run in anything like full racing condition since the late 1960s," Mr Bellamore said.

Manfeild chief executive Heather Verry said the Maserati was an extraordinary car.

"The Maserati 250F is a landmark machine – it was the best Formula 1 car of the 1950s – and seeing it in the metal and on the move is just amazing.

"I am deeply impressed that Chris Amon raced it when he was just 17, and that it was just his second racing car."

- © Fairfax NZ News