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Jim Richards back on home turf in November

30 September, 2015

One of the true good guys of Australasian motorsport, Jim Richards, will soon touch down on home soil for the annual Gathering of Geezers charity dinner, held in November on Thursday 12 at Wanaka’s Warbirds and Wheels museum.

‘Gentleman Jim’ will be joining an already stellar list of motorsport personalities, which includes motorcycling legend Graeme Crosby, former Australian Touring Car Championship  (ATCC) champion Robbie Francevic, land-speed record holder and NZ SuperTourer team owner Owen Evans, and Formula 5000 royalty in the form of Graeme Lawrence. Even our resident ‘Motor Man’ at New Zealand Classic Car, Donn Anderson, will be there!

Considering the supporting list of attendees, it’s no surprise that the 2015 edition of the ‘Geezers’ event is celebrating New Zealand’s rich motorsport heritage. And certainly Jim can be counted as one of the strongest contributors to that heritage, having won titles across Australia’s Touring Car Championship, Nascar championship, Nation’s Cup Championship, and Carrera Cup Championship.

But perhaps his most famed accomplishments were those he achieved at Mount Panorama. His first taste of the Bathurst podium came in 1974, when he and co-driver Rod Coppins came home in at a blistering third. Four years would pass before ‘Richo’ could take outright honours — winning the Great Race in 1978 alongside a driver you may have heard of named Peter Brock.

Jim and Peter would win at Bathurst over the following two years, making them the first combination to claim a three-peat at the mountain (a feat that has only been replicated once since, when Brock and his then-new co-driver Larry Perkins won in ’82, ’83, and ’84). Richo’s next win would only come at the dawn of the 1990s, as a factory driver for Nissan.

Photo: Nissan Motorsport

Nissan had burst into the Australian touring car scene in the mid ’80s, with drivers like George Fury pushing the brand closer and closer to their rivals at Ford and Holden. But it was the signing of Richo in 1989, as well as the arrival of the Nissan R32 GT-R in 1990 that would see the manufacturer reach for new heights. Jim and his trusty Skyline HR31 GTS-R claimed the 1990 ATCC title, before he, his new hot-shot teammate Mark Skaife, and the R32 GT-R would paint the town red over the following two years — racking up wins everywhere, a pair of Bathurst 1000 victories, and in some respects sealing the fate of the Group A formula with their uninterrupted and savage dominance.

Two more Bathurst 1000 titles would fall in Richo’s favour, winning the two-litre iteration of the Great Race in 1998 alongside Rickard Rydell in a Volvo S40, during the height of the Australian touring car bust up, before taking his final 1000 win in 2002 alongside his old mate Mark Skaife, while driving for the Holden Racing Team.

Photo: Touring Car Masters

Of course, Richo still races. Like many before him, giving up on motorsport cold turkey was not an option. He still peddles from time to time in the Touring Car Masters, these days behind the wheel of a distinctive AMC Javelin.

Having met Jim on an admittedly brief and fleeting level, the term ‘gentleman’ that has followed him around for a number of decades is absolutely appropriate. If you were on the fence about attending the 2015 Gathering of Geezers event, you shouldn’t be any more.

Funds raised on the night will be going towards the Warbirds Over Wanaka Community Trust, and the Upper Clutha Children’s Medical Trust — attendees given the opportunity to be as generous as possible thanks to the charity auctions that will take place on the night. For more information, visit the Warbirds on Wanaka website, and check below to see the full list of announced racers that will be attending the event:

  • Graeme Crosby
  • Graham Standring
  • Graeme Lawrence
  • Leo Leonard
  • Jack Nazer
  • Mike Marshall
  • Steve Millen
  • Warwick Jones
  • Dennis Marwood
  • Robert Franicevic
  • Chris Munro
  • Heather Spurle
  • Paul Fahey
  • Roger Bertram
  • Shane Drake
  • Owen Evans
  • Garth Hogan
  • Bob ‘The Builder’ Clarkson
  • Aaron Slight
  • Donn Anderson

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.