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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.

Coaching from the bench: Casting plastic knobs and rubber parts

16 July, 2026

Casting rubber items is simple if you have a good original to work with. The item doesn’t have to be perfect. You can use plasticine to smooth out cracks, and you can even make whole prototypes out of low-fire modelling clay available from craft stores if you need to. Prototypes can also be made of wood or metal.
You will need mould dams to contain the liquid urethane moulding solution until it cures. You can build boxes out of strips of wood, but I have found that small plastic boxes and bowls such as those you would use for leftovers in your fridge work well if you spray them with a mould release agent.
Temperature is important to the chemical processes involved, so work in an area that can be maintained at around 20 degrees. You will also need adequate ventilation because the fumes can be dangerous to breathe. And you will want to wear latex gloves to protect your hands.

Fraser Cars – low flying into the fourth decade

10 July, 2026

With almost three and a half decades under its belt, Fraser Cars is one of New Zealand’s longest-surviving car manufacturers. The company first opened its doors for business in 1988, during the boom time for kit manufacturers. During the ’80s, around 40 different companies were building kits and turnkey cars for this niche market. Of those, only Fraser and Almac Cars (established 1981) are still in business today.
Most of the new kit car companies were killed off in the cradle by the threat of new legislation that never eventuated and definitively by the sudden availability of high-performance Japanese cars when the floodgates to second-hand imports were opened. The now long-retired founder of the company, Neil Fraser, first came across Lotus Seven replicas while racing Lotus Cortinas in the early ’80s. He regularly found himself racing against a little Caterham, a Lotus Seven–styled car built in England. He was very impressed by its simplicity and handling. In 1986 Fraser built his own Lotus Seven–type car, using the knowledge he had gained from several close looks at the Caterham.