Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon

Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon at a glance

Location

Feilding, Manawatū-Whanganui

Type

road course

Length

4.511 km (2.803 mi)

Turns

13

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1973

Owner

Manfeild Park Trust

Address

59 South Street

Phone

+64 6 323 7444

Website

manfeild.co.nz

Track map and layout

Manfeild offers two linked circuit configurations on flat farmland just outside Feilding. The Full Circuit is 4.511 kilometres with 13 turns, extending the original lap with an additional loop added in a 1998 upgrade and used for endurance racing, touring cars and larger fields. The shorter Grand Prix Circuit, 3.030 kilometres and 7 turns, is the original 1973 layout and remains the one most associated with the venue's single-seater history, running clockwise (a reversed anti-clockwise configuration is available for motorcycle events). A separate 1.5-kilometre Back Circuit is used for club days and driver training. Manfeild is often described as having the longest uninterrupted sightline of any circuit in the Southern Hemisphere, letting spectators in the main grandstand watch cars for almost the entire lap rather than a single corner.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Manfeild's motorsport calendar runs from February to June. The Repco NextGen NZ Championship holds its grand final here in late February, now also carrying the TA2 New Zealand Championship for muscle-car-style Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers, and the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy has used Manfeild for its season finale in early March, alongside the Bridgestone GR86/Toyota 86 Trophy Series on the same weekends. The New Zealand Endurance Championship, which had not visited for several years, returned to Manfeild in June 2026. The circuit does not currently host the New Zealand Grand Prix title race itself, which has rotated in recent seasons between Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park.

Getting there and parking

Manfeild sits on South Street just outside Feilding, in the Manawatū region of the lower North Island. Palmerston North Airport is the nearest airport with regular domestic flights, about a 20-minute drive away, making the circuit one of the more accessible North Island venues for a fly-in visit. Wellington, with its international airport, is a further two hours' drive south.

• Palmerston North Airport (PMR) · about 20 min drive

Parking

Parking is available on site; specific pricing is set per event and not published centrally.

Hotels and camping near Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon

Most visitors base themselves in Feilding, a short drive from the circuit, or in Palmerston North, about 20 minutes away, which has a wider range of hotels and motels. Event camping is available on site at Manfeild, letting competitors and visitors stay close to the pits rather than commuting in each day, which is a notable advantage over circuits with no on-site accommodation option.

Where to look

Feilding town centre, close to the circuit, and Palmerston North (about 20 minutes away) for a wider choice of hotels and motels.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Manfeild runs its own Test Days for competition cars and motorcycles preparing for racing (road-registered cars and bikes are not permitted at these sessions), typically priced per driver or rider and pre-paid. Third-party operators including MotoTT and Playday run public motorcycle track days on the circuit for road bikes and riders of varying experience, giving casual visitors a way onto the track that the venue's own competition-only test days do not offer.

Who runs days here

• Manfeild Test Days (competition vehicles)both
• MotoTT track daysmotorcycle

Typical cost: Manfeild's own competition Test Days cost around NZ$160 per driver or rider, pre-paid; third-party public motorcycle track day pricing is set by the individual operator

Lap records

Spectator guide

Manfeild's flat layout and long sightlines mean the main grandstand can take in most of the lap in one view rather than a single corner, which locals and organisers frequently promote as the longest uninterrupted sightline of any circuit in the Southern Hemisphere. The Manawatū plains setting means little natural shade, so sun protection is worth packing even on an overcast day, and race weekends can be windy given the open, exposed terrain.

Best places to watch

The main grandstand gives the widest view of the circuit, taking in most of the lap rather than a single corner.

Weather

• Feb-Mar: Manawatū late summer/early autumn: typical highs around 20-23°C, can be windy on the open plains

History of Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon

A car club builds a circuit

Manfeild was built in 1973 by the Manawatu Car Club on flat farmland just outside Feilding, giving the lower North Island a permanent home for motorsport for the first time. The original layout became the Grand Prix Circuit, a 3.03-kilometre, 7-turn lap that quickly established itself as a fixture on the national single-seater and touring car calendars, and the venue took on the formal Manfeild Park Trust structure in 2004 to manage the site on the car club's behalf.

Growth to international standard

Additional land purchased in the late 1980s allowed a major extension completed in 1990, adding the loop that created today's 4.511-kilometre, 13-turn Full Circuit, used for larger fields and endurance racing. The circuit was resurfaced in 2004 to improve grip, and its FIA Grade 3 homologation has kept it in the rotation for national and some international categories, including regular hosting duties for the Toyota Racing Series (the forerunner of today's Formula Regional Oceania Trophy) through the 2000s and 2010s.

Honouring Chris Amon

On 25 November 2016 the circuit was renamed Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon, honouring Christchurch-born Chris Amon, one of New Zealand's most accomplished Formula One drivers of the 1960s and '70s and a design consultant for several manufacturers, who died earlier that year. Today Manfeild remains a genuine multi-discipline venue - drifting, karting, driver training and agricultural and equestrian events share the site with car and motorcycle racing - and continues to host national championship finals each summer, including the NextGen NZ Championship grand final and the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy season decider, alongside the New Zealand Endurance Championship's 2026 return after a seven-year absence.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• Levin Motor Racing Circuit · 50 km · historic circuit (defunct)
• Cemetery Circuit, Whanganui · 54 km · street circuit
• Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park · 182 km · road course
• Taupō International Motorsport Park · 182 km · road course
• Hampton Downs Motorsport Park · 323 km · road course
• Pukekohe Park Raceway · 340 km · dormant