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2015 Repco Race to the Sky’s big names to do battle

24 March, 2015

The legendary Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima will be making his return to Cardrona, for the 2015 Repco Race to the Sky, held over April 18–19. The eight-time King of the Mountain champion will be joined by a number of competitors, both new and old, for the first iteration of the famous hill climb in seven years.

The opportunity to race the world-renowned course has attracted competitors from both here and abroad, amongst them, Whangarei’s ‘Rocket’ Ron Kirkman — at 78 years of age — the oldest competitor at the event. His age hasn’t slowed him down, nor his 1000cc Honda Rocket Racing quad bike. The quad category will also benefit from Christchurch’s Mike Shackleton, racing his famous ‘Quadzilla’ turbocharged 1300cc quad.

In the two-wheeled basket, Invercargill’s Craig Hyde — Race to the Sky’s original motorcycle ‘god’ — will make his return on the 1992 single-cylinder, two-stroke Kawasaki KX500, with a big challenge ahead in the form of Nathan McAlwee. McAlwee has two entries in two separate classes; a KTM SXF450 in middleweight, and a KTM SXF250 in lightweight.

The legendary Tajima will be taken on head-to-head in the eight-deep unlimited class by Rotorua local Sloan Cox, in the Mitsubishi Evo VIII successfully raced by Andrew Hawkeswood. Down in the open four-wheel-drive class, Mike Turfus will be bringing his own Mitsubishi Evo VIII out to play with the class’s other 12 entrants. The open two-wheel-drive class, within the national hill-climb competition division, will be headlined by Trevor Crowe, amongst its six competitors.

From across the ditch comes Brett Hayward from Victoria, Australia, who is also the current race record holder for open-wheel cars. He’ll be returning to compete in his sixth Race to the Sky event in his brand-new ‘Race to the Sky special’.

The off-road category also looks to be a hotly contested one, with national champ Bryan Chang bringing his championship-winning race truck to 2015 Repco Race to the Sky. Bryan has contested all bar one of the past Race to the Sky events, and will be facing off against Whangarei’s Clim Lammers, and Auckland’s Jono Climo, competing in the Toyota Hilux he designed and built himself, influenced by American ‘trophy truck’ desert racers.

It’s going to be an exciting two days of competition, and Highlands Motorsport Park’s general manager Mike Sentch says, “With so many former competitors, plus a great array of newcomers … I think it’s fair to say we can expect intense competition for the two main trophies.”

He’s not wrong there. Tickets can be purchased online from Ticket Direct, or from the Highlands Motorsport Park offices. A one-day adult pass costs $50, or $80 for a two-day pass. Children under 16 enter free with a paying adult.

NZ Classic Car magazine, November/December 2026 issue 408, on sale now

18 October, 2026

Star status for classic Porsche
A long search ends: finding the right car
Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963, the Porsche 911 heralded an iconic lineage of sports cars, known for their exceptional performance, remarkable racing reliability, and adaptability, second to none.
New Zealand Classic Car, in conjunction with Star Insure, recently conducted a photo competition to find 13 suitably impressive classics to grace the pages of the magazine’s 2027 calendar. A flood of entries showed that Kiwis recognise eye-catching designs and restorations. Many are handy with a camera, too, and have entered some outstanding results.
The choice was not straightforward, with multiple stunning entries, and Geoff Long’s immaculate 1990 Porsche 911 (964 Factory designation) took top honours. Fortunately, Geoff had Ethan Hanlon handy to take the accompanying photos while working in his office.
“I’ve got a young employee who is doing work experience in my office at the moment, and he’s a very avid photographer. So, I said, I’ll buy you breakfast and then why don’t we go and take some photos. He found the right spot, and he spent over an hour photographing.”
Originally sold new in Japan, hence the right-hand drive, the Porsche was resident there for four years before being exported to New Zealand, as Geoff recalls.
“I bought it two-and-a-half years ago, but I looked for it for over two years, because it’s just the colour scheme, interior and exterior I was after. The service file that came with it is extensive; I mean, it’s been beautifully looked after, which is what I wanted to continue, as it does get driven. It doesn’t sit in the garage.”

Classics on the green

16 October, 2026

Many pretenders vie for the title, but the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gets my vote as the biggest thing since sliced bread.
The 71st edition of the world’s pre-eminent and best-known concours event featured 28 classes, judged by a 180-strong jury, which also chose the recipients of 26 special awards.
The size of the event, the number of visitors, and, most mind-numbingly, the sheer number of amazing cars, is almost overwhelming. There are so many quality cars to gaze upon, and so many people gazing at those cars, that it is almost impossible to cover everything.
Notable among the many attractions were the centenary celebrations of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an elegant Talbot-Lago Grand Sport, Hermann Graber’s Swiss-bodied cabriolets and coupés, the jewels of Otto Vu Italian V8s, early Alfa Romeos, Lincoln and its centenary, and cars with unorthodox propulsion systems.