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Video: Paddon goes HAM freeestyling his AP4

30 May, 2017

Kiwi WRC extraordinaire Hayden Paddon knows how to pedal, there is no denying that. So when you give Hayden some fresh tracks to slay you know its going to be good. Dubbed Paddon’s Playground, the premise for these low buck videos is simply Hayden, and his NZ based Hyundai i20 AP4, inserted into roads that have never been hit before  this is raw rally at its best. 

The first instalment sees Hayden travel by barge to Minaret Station on the shores of Lake Wanaka and let loose like the local farm boy in a flat deck Hilux. Lets hope this video series goes someway to promoting New Zealand as a return destination for WRC in 2018, which currently has the 14th spot sitting open. 


Our only competition currently is Croatia, and a candidate rally will be held here this September to promote our viability. The promoter will reveal its 2018 calendar to the WRC Commission for autumn ratification by the World Motor Sport Council. 

“I don’t need to tell you about New Zealand,” said Ciesla, continuing, “There is a big passion to go there with Hayden and even though we won’t see the highest number of on-site spectators, we have these beautiful roads which we can use to make great television. I am very much in favour of this.” 

Working in our favour is WRC Promoter’s policy of avoiding more rallies in Europe, though we are unsure if this will prevent them from choosing Croatia, as Ciesla explains, “It’s true that we are not seeking more European rallies … [but the planned event] would go straight into the top five rallies for spectator attendance.” Failing New Zealand returning for 2018, it is expected that a 16-round calendar will be introduced by 2022, of which we are almost guaranteed to make an appearance.

 

 

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.