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McMillin turns to nitro!

25 November, 2015

 

NZV8 columnist, and well-known drag racer, Morice McMillin has driven some fast cars during his drag racing career, but last Sunday the Hamilton-based driver had his first taste of nitro whilst completing licensing passes at Sydney Dragway, and, for him and his crew, the Aeroflow Triple Challenge can’t come soon enough.

When quizzed about how the ‘One Bad Kiwi’ nitro funny car compared to other cars he had raced, McMillin beamed with excitement. “Honestly, it’s like nothing I can compare at all, there’s just no comparison.
 
“If I had to put it into words – I suppose one is a bit of hail and one is a thunderstorm. It’s just the whole experience; the noise, the smell — the whole experience is just amazing!

“As soon as I sat in the car at the race shop, it just fit like a glove, everything was set up perfectly and it was just perfect for me.”
 
McMillin took his own crew with him so that they could also get to know the new car.
 
“For us, it’s a steep learning curve but the boys picked it up quickly under the guidance of Aaron Hambridge and the boys in the Aeroflow race shop — it was a great day.”

It was also the team’s first trip to Sydney Dragway, the venue for the massive December 12 event where the team are set to make their competition debut.
 
Morice added, “To race on a world-class facility is like nothing that you dream about. It will be great to see the huge field of funny cars all lined up in the staging lanes for the event.”
 
After the licensing, McMillin and his crew returned to the race shop to get the car ready for competition.

“We went back to the shop and serviced as much as we could today. Now we get the logistics in place for the event and make sure everything is good to go. Oh, and we will nervously wait,” he laughed.
 
But McMillin is not making the trip for enjoyment alone, he is looking for fast passes and win lights.

“Driving a funny car for Graeme Cowin was amazing, to run my first five is something you can’t put into words, but to race against the best in the business at the best funny car event you could imagine – we’ll that will be the dream come true!”

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.