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Queen of speed’s life in the fast lane

23 March, 2015

Not even a year since rewriting history and becoming New Zealand’s quickest and fastest female, Karen Hay’s quest for speed is still strong.

At the recent IHRA NZ Drag Racing Nationals, held at Meremere Dragway on March 14–15, she won the National title for the second year in a row in the Competition class.

She also set a new AA/Altered record as well as achieving a personal best of 6.41 seconds at 214mph over the quarter-mile. Her purpose-built 1927 Ford Model T roadster is powered by a twin-turbocharged 482ci big block Chev engine, and is the quickest and fastest Warren Brogie–built Model T roadster in the world.

“It was touch and go with the team if we would make the Nationals this year as some damage was done when I ran my 6.59 pass on January 31. The crew chief (Karen’s dad Lindsay) pulled out all the stops for the Nationals — the biggest meeting of the year,” says Karen.

All of that dedication and commitment paid off when Karen ran a 6.47 at 210mph, placing herself as number-one qualifier for the Competition class.

“I had achieved a team goal,” she says.The next run was the National championship winning pass of 6.46 at 210mph.

The season hadn’t started well, but the Nationals sure made up for it. Karen says a huge thank you goes to the Meremere Dragway team for the well-prepped track and smooth running of the 2015 Nationals.

“To my team — no matter how small or big the job is, on the day you all contribute to the success. I’d like to thank our tuner Jason Cutelli. As always he works on two cars at each meet. Running between two teams with different needs, etc. This weekend we won the Nats and his other car he works on, RIPS Racing, broke a world record. Jason is awesome. He respects my input and always tells me what he’s done. He takes the time out to explain what changes have been made and how it could affect my runs which I really appreciate.

“To my crew chief Lindsay, and my mum Shona — wow, what can a daughter say? Thank you will never be enough. The rush I get from driving a car like Evil II is unexplainable. I’ve been given an opportunity to do my passion, and life can’t get much better than that.”

Hay Family Racing would like to thank their competitors, track workers, race fans, and the following who have helped directly with the car: RIPS Racing, Infomotive, Spec Rite Torque Convertors, Segedins of Dominion Road, Moran Motorsports, Chuck Mann, Bill Brinsden, and Link Engine Management.

Lunch with Bill Leckie: An Imp’s tale

6 August, 2026

Seeking limelight is part of Bill Leckie’s DNA, but when I asked him if anyone had written about his career and the cars he created, he didn’t think so. Even so, I was delighted when he agreed to sit down with me over a pie and coffee to reminisce. I started by asking how it is that someone who is so fanatical about F1 only ever raced saloon cars? Well, we’ll get to that, but where did things start? “I went to Cornwall Park Primary School and then to Remuera Intermediate where I became good mates with Geoff Perry, son of the legendary motorcycle racing legend Len.” Geoff Perry was 23 and on the edge of stardom when he was killed in a mystery air disaster over the Pacific in 1973. “We used to race around his backyard on a cutdown motorbike. It was friendly competition that I suppose helped hone our racing instincts. There was never much between us and so, by 11 or 12, I had a definite leaning towards speed.”

Mitsubishi’s secret weapon

31 July, 2026

Ewen’s Starion is a little different and special. He saved this one – literally ‘found in a paddock’ — just in time, as he relates.
“Mine is a 1983 Starion. I’ve had it about five years. I first saw it in a paddock at Ryal Bush [north of Invercargill], and I went past it three times. The third time I went back and knocked at the door, but the owner didn’t want to sell. He rang up a year later, and put a price on it, which we accepted. Only thing wrong was the motor was totally dismantled.”
Ewen then set about getting the car back to its current state.
“It took me six months to find somebody suitable to refurbish it back then. Simon Bradley at Midas in Invercargill offered to do it and he did a great job on it. The head was badly damaged around the valves, and Simon said you could get generic cylinder heads now, so he installed one, and it cost $800. It’s made such a difference to the car. Mine is an intercooled, fuel-injected turbo model, fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a great car to drive too.”
Except for a small patch of surface rust, Ewen’s car was in surprisingly good condition despite its paddock life.