The sister of the late New Zealand Formula One and Can Am driver Jan McLaren, took a replica of the original 1959 trophy on a victory lap, recreating an original photograph taken in 1959.
The sports car used yesterday was the same make - an Austin Healey 100S - and the same colour as that used in the 1959 victory lap.
It was also driven by the same driver, Joss Tims, of Timaru, now aged 80. The original Austin Healey, which he owned, is now in the United States, but he was more than happy to drive another one.
"It was rather special," Tims said after his trip down memory lane.
McLaren was killed in 1970, while testing a Can Am car at the Goodwood circuit in Britain.
Early in his career, in 1959, in a T45 Cooper Climax, he won the inaugural race, then 50 laps around the town's streets.
Last year the event was reactivated, as a street sprint over a shortened course. It was so successful it was decided to make it an annual two-day festival, with a hill climb, quarter mile drag, rally sprint and street sprint.
Yesterday, the crowd was even bigger than last year, with thousands lining the circuit.
Jan McLaren said she was not at the first Waimate 50, but was there for the second in 1960.
Yesterday was the first time she had been back, travelling south from her Auckland home.
She described the latest event as "fab".
"It's great to see a street race again. There's something evocative about street racing," she said.
The original Waimate 50 trophy went missing, and a replica was recreated by the last person to win it, in 1972, Philip K. Jones. He had the names of all the previous winners, including McLaren, engraved on it.
Jones gave the trophy to the Bruce McLaren Trust, which is its guardian.
