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Tony Quinn picks up Hampton Downs

3 June, 2015

It’s the start of a new chapter for Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, as it has recently been purchased by Highlands Motorsport Park owner and Australian pet food magnate Tony Quinn.

Hampton Downs opened in 2009, and Quinn has expressed an interest in purchasing the facility for a number of years — it was only after extensive negotiations that he was able to purchase, becoming Hampton Downs’ new owner on June 3.

Tony Quinn (R) purchases Hampton Downs Motorsport Park

For the first six months, Quinn will sit back and firm up his plans, but some plans are already in the works.

“A lot of what we want to do is pretty obvious, like finishing off the pit lane, extending the track, and building another skid pan down the bottom,” Quinn says. “By the end of the summer, maybe March–April next year [2016], a lot of those plans will be finished. Then I can see a grand opening of the track in November, 2016.”

Though nothing is set in stone as yet, it is thought that this grand opening may also play host to a New Zealand double-header finale to the Australian GT series. There is also speculation around an Asia-Pacific GT Cup at the event. Only time will tell, but it sure sounds as though Hampton Downs really will be stepping up to the international stage.

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.