Heimgartner gets behind the wheel of Super Black Racing’s ‘The Dark Horse’

8 February, 2015

Super Black Racing, the only New Zealand-based V8 Supercar (V8SC) team, have had their official launch at the Sydney Garden Island Naval base. Andre Heimgartner is all set to begin the official V8SC test following the big reveal of the Prodrive Racing (PRA)-prepared Triple One Falcon, alongside his PRA teammates.

Super Black Racing team owner Tony Lentino said, “We are so proud to finally be here and to be part of the Prodrive Racing team. We’re really excited about the year, and finally being able to reveal the car that we call ‘The Dark Horse’ is awesome.”

Aged 19, Heimgartner is one of the youngest drivers to ever compete in a V8SC championship, but is up for the challenge. 

“I know it won’t be easy, but I’m lucky to have such an incredible team of people behind me to help me learn, along with all of our awesome New Zealand fans,” Heimgartner said.

Also on board is Paul Radisich, the touring car legend, who joined the team in Sydney with his official role as team principal. This will see him guide and mentor the team with his experience, which spans across more than 20 years in motorsport.  

Super Black Racing is set to campaign the new Prodrive Racing FG X later in the season. The official V8SC Super Test runs for three days near Eastern Creek before the championship has its opening round in Adelaide in little over two weeks’ time.

NZ Classic Car magazine, January/February 2025 issue 397, on sale now

Having dominated the world motorcycle championships of the 1960s, Honda had a crucial decision to make in 1969. Would Soichiro Honda heed his engineer’s pivotal advice?
“Very few examples of the early Civic, a car that set Honda onto the path to becoming a giant of the car world, remain road registered in New Zealand.
Retired Tauranga owner of this example, Graham Inglis is thrilled with his classic little Honda Civic, the first of eleven generations built so far by the company. The Civic became a household name.
“It’s quite amazing the number of people who not only wave, but come up to me in the street and tell me how much they like the little Honda and its colour, and then they want to start talking about it. A guy in our vintage car club wants to buy it and he has been pushing me a bit. It’s not for sale,” he laughs.
Graham bought his 1977 Honda Civic from Wellington enthusiast Julian Foster, who was the instigator of its restoration.”

A star in their eyes – 1968 Ford Galaxie 500

“Everyone asks that until they take a closer look,” says its owner today, Brent Harris of Auckland. “They also ask if I’ve done the restoration myself, and I have to tell them no, it is 100 per cent original. It’s the paint listed in the handbook.”
It was the original condition of the car that won Brent over from the moment he first saw it — that and the fact “it just looks stunning”.
Brent had owned a 1968 Mark II Cortina for four years. It was in need of some work and the question arose whether to spend the money or get something different. You don’t get much more divergent than Ford’s different approaches to its markets in the UK and the USA.