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Call for volunteers for the ITM500

8 April, 2015

Have you ever wanted to get involved behind the scenes at a race meeting? How about one of the biggest V8 race meetings of the year? Well here’s your chance — ITM500 is being held this November and they need around 450 volunteers to make the day a success.

The ITM500 takes place at Pukekohe Park Raceway on November 6–8 and will see several iconic Kiwi drivers make the trip home, including Shane Van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard, and Scott McLaughlin. Vital championship points are up for grabs along with the chance to battle some international drivers right here on the most iconic race circuit in New Zealand.

Deborah Day, the event volunteer coordinator, says, “Every year our volunteers have a ball. They embody the spirit of this iconic event and we’re looking forward to having a blast alongside our Supercar teams this year.”

Don’t worry if you feel that you don’t have the necessary skills to be a volunteer — every applicant will receive proper training prior to the event. Volunteers will also receive free entry and a volunteer pack, which is exclusively for the volunteer crew.

All new and returning ITM500 volunteers can register their interest now at themotorsportclub.com. Applications close July 31.

Image credit: Matthew Hansen

Motorman: Blame it on Rio!

22 May, 2025

Following the third polite advisory, I figured there had to be a fair degree of substance to the warning. “If this is your first visit to Rio de Janeiro, please be careful,” came the personal hushed dialogue from the pleasant hostesses on a far from crowded Varig flight from Los Angeles to the famous Brazilian seaside city.
The previous evening I had flown into LA from Auckland en route to the 1985 international launch of the Fiat Uno Turbo. I was prepared for another long haul of just under 12 hours across Mexico, central America, Colombia, and central Brazil to that nation’s third largest city. Surprisingly the 10,500km run from Los Angeles to Rio is actually longer than the 8800km LA-London air route.
With the journey including a brief stopover in Honolulu I expected to travel just under 44,000km for the return journey to sample what was to be a low-volume version of a popular Italian car that would sell in even lower numbers in New Zealand. I like to think this shows nothing more than my deep commitment to my craft. In fact, even though I became lost on the homeward journey my total air miles would be little different.

Pinnacle Porsche

15 May, 2025

We were stopped at the side of the road, setting up the next photograph, when a faded Toyota slowed alongside and stopped. The window was already down to give the driver a good look.
“That’s my dream car,” he said, speaking for more than a few of us.
He drank in the gleaming red paint, shining in the sun, and the car’s purposeful swoops and curves. He exhaled half a lungful of cigarette smoke, gave a hang 10–style thumbs up and drove off.
On the side of the road, against a clear blue background, the Porsche stood out in all its stark red glory. It’s the classic 911 shape on steroids. It has the fat, even pouty, front lip of the G series 911s, added to comply with 5mph bumper restrictions in the US. It also has the oversized haunches to accommodate the wider rear wheels and tyres – a first for Porsche, which also confirmed its supercar credentials – and, most noticeably of all, that enormous whale-tail spoiler. They made it look as if Porsche had abandoned its restraint.