The 2011 New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing in January will celebrate the career of Kiwi ace Chris Amon, promising motorsport fans two weekends of classic racing and the best ever gathering of cars raced by Amon himself.

Amon himself will attend both weekends. Although he no longer races, there will be time set aside for him to demonstrate some of his former cars including the Ferrari 246T, the Amon AF101, the Talon F5000 and the BRM P201 F1.

There will also daily lunchtime 'Chris Amon Parades' where he will be taken by the NZ Ferrari Owners' Club cars to lead a brief on-track line up of his former cars. He will also be available to sign copies of the new book 'Chris Amon - a celebration of a Kiwi Icon' which will be released at the Festival.

The 2010 Festival - which celebrated the life and career of Bruce McLaren - returned New Zealand to the international historic racing map and was watched by around 25,000 spectators, certainly the biggest crowd at any motorsport event in the country in 2010. Organisers hope that with Amon present and likely to be demonstrating some of the machinery he used in his career, the 2011 event should be even bigger.

Eleven classes will race each weekend. A class for 1980s saloons and GTs has been added with several 1980s Group A cars - some of the most popular saloons ever to race - confirmed. Classic racing motorcycles will also compete over the first Hampton Downs weekend, with the ever popular Muscle Cars gracing the stage the following weekend.

"Bikes will attract special interest on the first weekend for people who follow classic pre '63 bikes and who want to enjoy racing as it was in the 1950s early 60s when motorcycles were always part of a combined cars and bikes race programme," said Festival Chairman Jim Barclay. "The second weekend will be a chance to see Muscle cars in place of bikes, plus the other 10 classes from the previous weekend."

Both weekend bills will be headed by stunning fields of thunderous and iconic F5000 cars and a bumper grid is expected with New Zealand, UK and Australia being home to the lion's share of cars still running and racing. Veteran Ken Smith, a good friend of Amon, will once again roll back the years and wow the crowds in his ex Teddy Pilette VDS Lola T430. On the second Friday (January 28th) the F5000 cars will take place in a dramatic F1 style qualifying shootout, with three timed periods and the last being a shoot out for pole position amongst the top ten fastest cars.

The choice of back-to-back weekends at one track is unusual, but an idea that is proving to be a popular with domestic and particularly international competitors. "Competitors can tour our brilliant NZ scenery between meetings and come back to their cars still set up in the same pit garages and the overwhelming majority of domestic and international racers say that is great for them and their teams," added Barclay.

Ex-Amon cars set to appear include the 1968 Ferrari 246T 2.4 litre that Chris drove to wins the 1968 New Zealand Grand Prix. The same owner will bring a 1968 BRM P126 V12 driven in the Kiwi races of the Tasman Cup by Bruce McLaren. The 1974 Amon AF101 F1 car - the only Amon racing car ever produced - was driven by Chris in four Formula One races in the 1974 F1 season. Amongst a growing and mesmerising entry expected to top 330, a 1953 Maserati 250F - the very car that Stirling Moss drove to win the 1956 Australian GP at Albert Park, Melbourne - will also run. The car later came to New Zealand and was bought and driven by New Zealander Brian Prescott in the early 1960s.

On display will be the ex-Amon Maserati 250F now owned by Southward Museum Trust; the A40 Special - Chris Amon's first single seater racing car; a 1970 March-Cosworth F1 car that Chris drove throughout the 1970 F1 season; a 1974 Talon MR1A F5000 driven by Chris in the 1975 Tasman Cup and the 1974 BRM P201 V12 F1 3.0 litre of the same type driven by Chris in the 1974 Canadian and US GPs. "The sound of this car on full throttle alone will be worth every cent of our modest ticket prices for most enthusiasts," said Barclay.

For further information, visit the New Zealand Festival of Motor Racing website.