TV3 to broadcast Silver Fern Rally 2014

23 January, 2015

The Silver Fern Rally holds a special place in New Zealand’s motoring scene — it was there as rallying began to take off in New Zealand in the late 1960s, and it has remained an integral part of New Zealand’s rallying scene ever since. In April of 1969 the Wellington Car Club organized the Shell-sponsored Silver Fern Rally — the country’s first true high-speed, special-stage rally.

In those early days, few events other than the Silver Fern Rally and Heatway International Rally were held. That would all change by the mid 1970s, with many car clubs beginning to run rally events.

The popularity of rallying in New Zealand, both at grassroots and top-tier levels, has survived through the decades and still remains strong. The last Silver Fern Rally was held last year, attracting the talents of both local and international rally drivers. Coverage from last year’s successful epay Silver Fern Rally 2014 will be broadcast at midday on Sunday, January 25, on TV3.

There is also a DVD available from Black Magic Media which runs for a further 40 minutes and contains more footage than the abridged version for television airing.

Lunch with … Rodger Anderson

At first, I wondered if I’d driven up the wrong driveway. The car in the garage was an early Mustang resplendent in royal blue with two broad gold stripes, which was not what I was expecting. I knew that Rodger Anderson, who made his name in Minis and a BMW 2002, was a Porsche man these days — the other end of the spectrum from American muscle. I had no idea of his affection for Detroit iron. It didn’t take long to discover just how passionate this former Saloon Car Champion is about cars, as long as they’re interesting.

Back from the brink – 1968 MGB GT

Auckland classic car enthusiast Kerry Bowman soon realised he had a massive job on his hands in restoring his classic 1968 MGB GT. When Kerry and his MGB first appeared in New Zealand Classic Car in March 2021, in “Behind The Garage Door”, the stripped-out shell had revealed some nasty surprises. Once the true extent of the hidden damage was discovered, the work would normally have been handed over to a professional fabricator. However, with the assistance of experts such as MG specialist restorer, Paul Walbran, Kerry has completed an impressive restoration and saved this car from the scrapheap.