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GT Radial Thunder in the Park roaring towards Pukekohe

4 November, 2014

If you’re anything like us, 11 racing classes being showcased over one weekend sounds right up our alley, and this year’s GT Radial Thunder in the Park, at Pukekohe Park Raceway on December 5–7, promises to do just that, bringing a racing type for everyone. The class line-up covers GT1, GT2, and NZGT classes, Pro 7, Porsche, NZ Six, SS2000, Formula First, Pre ’65, Central Muscle Cars, Super Mini and Star Cars, Production, and Northern Muscle Cars. 

GT Radial Thunder in the Park to be even bigger and better this year

And we’re not the only ones excited for the event with Deborah Day, GT Radial Thunder in the Park spokeswoman, looking forward to the variety in racing types as well. “All of them always put on a good show and, with such a jam-packed timetable, spectators definitely won’t get bored.”

Thunder in the Park has been held at Pukekohe for over ten years, so event organizers decided to make the anniversary something to remember. So this year the event features increased action both on and off the track. On top of the 11 racing classes, there will also be lunchtime entertainment, a bouncy castle, and a kids zone to add to the family-friendly atmosphere.   

Tickets start at just $23 for an adult, with children under 16 free with any paying adult. Tickets can be bought online at Ticketek, and you can keep up to date with any developments on the Thunder in the Park Facebook page.

ROTARY CHIC

6 September, 2024

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

30 August, 2024

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.”