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Massive Murphy auction at Hampton Downs

16 June, 2014

 


Greg Murphy is supporting the Spinal Cord Society NZ and its research into finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes by donating the proceeds of a massive memorabilia auction. The event is to be held on Sunday, June 1, at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, and entry is free.

The items for sale on the day will range from highly covetable items donated by Greg from the highlights of his career to date, to fun and very reasonably priced items, making this an exciting event for bidders of all levels.

There are also chances to win apparel and even a hot lap with the man himself, with spot prizes on the day for all those who register on arrival.

For information on all the family activities planned, as well as the full inventory of items to be auctioned and registrations of expressions of interest, visit murphhotlaps.com. To bid on one of the 20 charity hot laps also available, visit trademe.co.nz and use the search term ‘Murph Hot Laps’.


Public and guest event timetable:

8.30am: Pre-booked track experiences commence
9.30am: Free entry general admission gates open to public: Holden Barina Skid Pan experience, kids bouncy castle, Formula Challenge V8 drive sessions
10am: Silent auction, Trademe Charity Auction winners’ hot laps commence
12.30pm: Special track demonstrations including drift demonstration by Drew Donovan
1.30pm: Silent auction closes
2.30pm: Greg Murphy live auction begins
3pm: Formula Challenge single-seater drive experiences
4pm: Event activities conclude


ROTARY CHIC

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”

Tradie’s Choice

Clint Wheeler purchased this 1962 Holden FJ Panelvan as an unfinished project, or as he says “a complete basket case”. Collected as nothing more than a bare shell, the rotisserie-mounted and primed shell travelled the length of the country from the Rangiora garage where it had sat dormant for six years to Clint’s Ruakaka workshop. “Mike, the previous owner, was awesome. He stacked the van and parts nicely. I was pretty excited to get the van up north. We cut the locks and got her out to enjoy the northland sun,” says Clint. “The panelvan also came with boxes of assorted parts, some good, some not so good, but they all helped.”