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Taupo Thunder Drags canceled

17 December, 2014

We’ve just been informed that the entire 2014–’15 race season planned for Taupo Thunder Dragway has been canceled. Promoter Ken Galvin stated in his release that only 11 racers had pre-entered for the events that were set to take place on December 28, 2014 and January 3, 2015, which makes running them not financially feasible. Added to this were date clashes with the nostalgia event planned for Masterton Motorplex on the same date in January — taking this into account it was easy to understand the decision. Ken states that he feels that the date clash would be detrimental to the sport, which has added to him pulling the plug.

The cancellation of these summer events has given room to promote the track for the following season, in which Ken plans to run a televised winter drag racing programme covering America vs New Zealand, Summer Nationals, Drag Fest, and a Vintage Drag Meet — yes, that’s four events over seven days, all on TV if all things run to plan.

There will still be some great drag racing action over the summer season, including the nostalgia meet at Masterton Motorplex on January 3, and the Nitro Shootout at Meremere on January 10 — we’ve just got a reason to look forward to winter now.

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

16 April, 2025

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

13 April, 2025

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”