RIP: Chris Amon 1943–2016

3 August, 2016

It was with heavy hearts that we learnt today of the passing of one of New Zealand motorsport’s greats — Chris Amon.

Chris passed away today at Rotorua Hospital just a fortnight after celebrating his 73rd birthday.

2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the victory for Chris and Bruce McLaren at Le Mans when the Kiwi duo won the famous 24-hour race in a Ford GT40. That victory did not go unnoticed at Ferrari, and for 1967 Chris was signed to the famous Italian marque. He remained there for three seasons during which he won the Daytona 24-hour race, the 1000km of Monza, the New Zealand Grand Prix twice, and the Tasman Championship in 1969; however, consistent car breakages with their Grand Prix cars caused him to reluctantly quit at the end of that year.

Having established himself as one of the very best drivers in the world, he went on to drive for March and Matra in Formula 1, and for BMW in the European Touring Car Championship. He retired from Formula 1 in 1976, and from all motor racing in 1977 when he returned to New Zealand. He married Tish and returned to farming.

While motor racing was never forgotten, it went on the back burner as he settled back into life in New Zealand after 15 years away. They were soon joined by daughter Georgie, followed by twins James and Alex.

For many years, Chris had been a consultant to Toyota, and the winner of the Toyota Racing Series receives the Chris Amon Trophy. Chris was widely regarded internationally as not only the best driver never to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, but one of the best drivers never to be crowned world champion. Chris was awarded an MBE for his services to motorsport in 1993, and was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Chris had battled with cancer in recent years, but retained not only a close interest in Formula 1, but also his wonderful sense of humour complete with infectious chuckle.

He’ll be sadly missed by friends and fans around the globe.

Our condolences go out to his family.

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.

RIP: Chris Amon 1943–2016

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