SUBSCRIBE TO THE
MAGAZINE NOW
Facebook-f Instagram

Will this weekend see New Zealand’s first four-second pass?

27 November, 2014

This weekend (November 29–30) is going be a big one — the second round of the IHRA NZ National series will be hitting Meremere Dragway following the first round at Ruapuna in October.

The big news for Auckland Harley Davidson’s Spring Nationals 2014 is that the Marsh Motorsport/Mountshop Team will be in attendance with their Top Fuel dragster, meaning New Zealand’s first four-second pass may be just a few days away!

As always, there will be the usual exciting drag racing that Spring Nationals never fails to deliver, and awesome cars on display.

The Saturday is a test and tune day and gates will be open at 9am. The track opens at 11am with one round of non-compulsory qualifying at 3pm.

Make sure you’re ready at the track at 9am on Sunday, November 30 for Spring National, and if you’re up and about early head along for when the gates open at 8am. Gate entry is $10 for the Saturday, $20 for the Sunday, or $30 for the whole weekend. 

“Gotcha!’’ The continuing tale of a Nissan/Datsun tragic – part two

8 May, 2026

In 1996, I was on a mission to buy a suitable pavement scorcher and visited the now-defunct Manukau City Car Fair. Unbelievably, among the sea of four-door utilitarian Japanese compacts was the absolute jewel in the crown, my automobile wet dream — a 1985 two-door R30 RS Nissan Skyline FJ20 Turbo five-speed manual in nice condition. The owner wanted $10,000 — a great deal.
But what did I do? I bailed out, paralysed by indecision. The money would have been a stretch, but it was the worst automotive choice I ever made. Instead, I went for a rusty Toyota Sprinter 8 Valve Twin Cam Coupé, which was pretty terminal from the get-go. I know. We’ve all done it, but there was really no excuse for passing up the Skyline, and I was haunted by that for years.

Last Tango in the Fast Lane

30 April, 2026

In the mid ’80s, I locked into a serious Nissan/Datsun performance obsession. It could have kicked off with my ’82 Datsun Sunny, though this would have been a bit of a stretch of the imagination, given its normally aspirated 1.2-litre motor — not the sort of thing to unleash radical road warrior dreams. But it did plant a seed, and it was a sweet little machine and surprisingly quick, in contrast to all the diabolical English offerings I had endured.
I was living in South Auckland at the time and was an unrepentant petrolhead. Motor racing was my drug of choice, and I followed the scene slavishly. Saloon car racing, with the arrival of the international Group A formula, was having a serious renaissance here and in Australia and Europe. There was suddenly an exotic air in local racing that had been absent for 15 years.
I was transfixed by this new frontier of motor racing that had hit our tracks in 1985–87 and the new array of machinery on display. In 1986, the Nissan Skyline RS DR30 made a blinding impression on me. The Australian Fred Gibson-run, Peter Jackson-sponsored team of George Fury and Glenn Seton were the fastest crew of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship. But Kiwi legend Robbie Francevic snuck through to win the Aussie Championship in his Volvo 240T after a strong start and consistent finishes.