Ian "Red" Dawson

[Spgeti]

I was being polite John, the then Riley Camaro description would be a wee bit more colourful and your Monaro.....well, your a brave man. Cheers, Bruce

[fullnoise68]

Thanks Bruce, I`ve actually got the spare grille surround ??? or maybe the complete grille??? that Red bought when he originally got the car in the US.

[Spgeti]

What I had was painted black with a fair amount of rubbing to the lower beak when the on off trailer damage would have happened. I took it as a spare for my car....hell they are heavy. I don't know what happened to the doors, boot lid and some of the original interior ie door covers. Also in the parts bin was a rear spoiler for a mustang but no thanks.

[Steve Holmes]

Seems like a good excuse to post this great photo again, with Dawson in the Kensington Carpets Camaro lined up behind Pete Geoghegan in the Super Falcon and Frank Gardner in the SCA Freight Camaro at Bay Park in 1972.

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[BMCBOY]

I found a few old Dawson photos lately that may be of interest

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[Bruce302]

Here are two from Steve Elliott's collection. They show the remains of Red's Dekon Monza after the crash that effectively ended his racing. The car was rebuilt and went to Australia and it survived a lot more racing but in later years without the Monza body, but a Saab body in it's place.

[fullnoise68]

Bruce I think the Monza did come back to race in one of the summer series here in NZ when Aussie Jeff Barnes owned the car. I could be wrong, but Steve Holmes or someone else may recall.

[rogered]

Bruce I think the Monza did come back to race in one of the summer series here in NZ when Aussie Jeff Barnes owned the car. I could be wrong, but Steve Holmes or someone else may recall.

correct

[John McKechnie]

There were three that came over from Aus and were at Puke one year- Supra was one -was this the same meeting?

[Bondy]

The Chev Monza is available in the PC game, GT Legends and one of the cars in the list is, Red Dawson

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[fullnoise68]

Shame they didn`t use a few more of that era NZ cars, and judging by the background this game must be set on Queensland Raceway?

[Bondy]

Shame they didn`t use a few more of that era NZ cars, and judging by the background this game must be set on Queensland Raceway?

There are a few NZ cars available for download, like Escorts and Capri's. Lots of add on tracks, like Queensland Raceway pictured..

[Murray Maunder]

Lakeside?

[Growler]

GT Legends is a good game, however most people are using rFactor. That has every track in NZ including Hampton Downs and the 2013 version of Pukekohe. You can find most of the Aussie tracks as well.
One of the vast mods available is the Historix mod where they have most of the cars from GT Legends as well as many more, including the 70's Trans Am cars.
There are 100's of "mods" out for rFactor so if you are into a particular class of car then most likely it is availabe. (The 1980's German DRM mod is another one that is very good - Zakspeed Capri, BMW M1 etc).
There are quite a few leagues in NZ and Australia that race too.

[Rod Grimwood]

Might have to get one of those games, then can race at Puke again, and if you hit wall, push button and off again. Wish it was that easy.

[Growler]

Might have to get one of those games, then can race at Puke again, and if you hit wall, push button and off again. Wish it was that easy.

rFactor has been the one that everyone uses. It’s a dumbed down version of what some of the top race teams around the world used for testing etc. The simulation is 6 -7 years old so it getting a bit long in the tooth, and the numbers are dropping, but there are leagues out there that still run it. The program is a small download, but it has been everyone around the world that adds to it – new tracks and cars all the time – and the majority of them are free to download.
The car setup is quite complex (depending on the mod), but can make a world of difference to your lap times etc. (Even changing tire pressures has an effect).
The creators are working on rFactor 2 at the moment, and that has tire deformation, if you flat spot a tire you will feel it through the wheel etc, and changeable weather.
There are a couple of NZ leagues and a few Aussie ones too. (We did have 55 drivers once – but that killed the server!).
Although pretty realistic it will never replace real racing – but it is far cheaper and easier, and you can still keep your hand in if you aren’t racing. In fact there are some top guys in the sport who still use this program for practice.
Just a couple of vids:

Pukekohe GT3’s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYO9NAPczgI

Kiwi V8 Supercar League 2006 Highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJV18wRl3AI

V8 Supercar Practise at Bathurst
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqodUfoelmw

Touring Car Legends – M3 vs. Rover (I was in the M3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzDTTyHAY-c

[Steve Holmes]

I found a few old Dawson photos lately that may be of interest

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Wow! I'm blown away. These are fantastic Ross! The Monza pics all look like they're from the 1975/76 season? The one where its bunkered in the sand, would that be its NZ debut appearance at the Bay Park Xmas event in Dec 1975 where Allan Moffat also raced his Monza?

[Steve Holmes]

Here are two from Steve Elliott's collection. They show the remains of Red's Dekon Monza after the crash that effectively ended his racing. The car was rebuilt and went to Australia and it survived a lot more racing but in later years without the Monza body, but a Saab body in it's place.

Boy, these are grim looking images!

[Steve Holmes]

Shame they didn`t use a few more of that era NZ cars, and judging by the background this game must be set on Queensland Raceway?

Yes thats right Steve, it actually returned to NZ twice, first with John Briggs in 1979, then many years later with Jeff Barnes, as part of a multi-car Australian Sports Sedan contingent that also included Bryan Thomson in a Jaguar XJS, and Kerry Bailey and Des Wall in Toyota Supras.

I thought the DeKon Monza 1001 was still in Monza form, though much modified and with very little left of the original car, although Rowan Harman (aussiemonza) would know for sure.

[Jeff]

I have a photo taken from Motor Action magazine of the Dawson Monza flying through the air with bits flying off during this last , dramatic crash at Manfield.
I will copy it and post it when I have found it.
How and where did Art McKee get hold of a similar DeKon Monza about the same time as Dawson ?? I recall it had a lovely paint job.
An article I recently read quoted Jim Richards saying that , as a young fella just starting out in motorsport he was racing against Dawson in a saloon car race and when Richards had the chance to pass Dawson " Red looked over at me as I passed and promptly moved over on me until I was off the track on the grass ! " When Jim approached Red after the race and asked for a please explain , Red just said " No young fella is going to make a name for himself by passing Red Dawson "
Yep - a hard man

As promised , a photo I cut out of Motor Action Magazine as a kid and had stapled to my bedroom wall until it went yellow ( the photo - not the wall )
Red's final and wild ride across the infield at Manfield.
I recall at the time there was plenty of speculation that he had "blacked out" which led to the crash but I don't know how true that turned out to be.
Note Dawson hanging partially out of the cabin area after the door came off


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