The Roaring Season

Pretty sure the Red RX3 in last photo was Rod Millen and the car went onto be a rally car for a short while until the new Mazda Dealers white car was finished and then it was taken over by John Woolf.

This is an earlier shot I posted of the car. It was Steve Millen driving the Mazda instead of the XU1 he was entered to drive.

Har ha ha, Frosty5, good one, I like it!
Engines have pistons and run on petrol/methanol/lpg/etc, motors have armatures and run on electricity, eg 12 volts/240 volts/etc!
PK.

Now this was along time ago but pretty sure Rod driving as helmet and seat position is him. Notice the Marchal lights advertising and Duckhams, they were among the first backers/assistance along with Giltrap and AC Gills for Rod and rallying, The 1st RX3 was blue and this car was built in between that and white car straight after this which had bigger Duckhams across back guards.
The red car did not do much at all, before it was sold.

In your photo Milan you can see the sump guard still fitted, mud flaps and the wheels were on it when John Woolf rallied it.

Car below is the blue one note lights

Found this photo courtesy of Ross Cammick of red car, sump guard, flaps, wheels etc. this about 1st event for John in it.

The programme had Steve entered in the XU1 number 100C and when the car was changed for a Mazda numbered 100B I thought it must be Steve driving. But I've just checked the Motor Action report on the race and the Mazda was driven by both Steve and Rod. Overall results weren't given but the Millens finished third in Class B behind Paul Adams (BMW 2002) and Glenn McIntyre/Phillip Bevan (RX3).

BMCBOY wrote:I recently came across these colour negatives from Baypark in 1979. Even though the negatives were slightly "compromised" after all this time I have managed to get something passable out of them and believe they are worth preserving and sharing.

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Epic! Thanks for posting Ross.

Milan Fistonic wrote:The programme had Steve entered in the XU1 number 100C and when the car was changed for a Mazda numbered 100B I thought it must be Steve driving. But I've just checked the Motor Action report on the race and the Mazda was driven by both Steve and Rod. Overall results weren't given but the Millens finished third in Class B behind Paul Adams (BMW 2002) and Glenn McIntyre/Phillip Bevan (RX3).

Any idea who was driving the #53 Charger? Geoff Sutherland perhaps? Along with this one and the #31 Hammond car, were there other Chargers entered?

16bbls I was not there to watch but what I remember was that the Southerland car was red, could have been the weekend it rolled up side down into pit area , my brother raced a charger in the series as well so the number of chargers not sure , some one might have a entry list

Sutherland E49 Charger that rolled and squashed the roof down was silver

John McKechnie wrote:Sutherland E49 Charger that rolled and squashed the roof down was silver

Yes Mercury Silver and I understand he still owns the car. The Hemi Orange Hammond car above (ex Coppins) is now painted silver however.

John McKechnie wrote:Sutherland E49 Charger that rolled and squashed the roof down was silver

I saw the Sutherlamd Charger land in the pits upside-down, at the time I was on Dennis Marwoods pit crew and he (Dennis) made a stop to change tires (I think). The Charger just missed landing on a woman pushing a pram through the pit area. I was so shocked, standing still and watching the carnage. So, Dennis had a very slow pit stop on my behalf, I was the jack- man.but despite my slow wheel change he still won his class(again, I think). I note Dennis isn't in the program, probably a late entry Milan?

Out of all the Chargers this is the most memorable for me- and that is nothing to do with the flip.
Simply, he was a fellow competitor at the hill climbs.
In all my life i have never heard another engine screaming like that

It amazes me to see the cars racing in NZ throughout this era without the requirement for roll-bars. The Sutherland Charger was certainly squashed.

Thank you for putting up the entry list Milan.

16bbls, it's probably because nobody ever thought of them. The Skoda I had (ex Heatway) club folk laughed at because it had a cage, not required for the rally at all, just that it was factory car and had one.

Better no role cage than illusion of safety given by exhaust or aluminium tubing

That is very true. We pulled an homologation Charger E38 out of a container in 2003 in Toowoomba still fitted with a half roll-cage and racing harness that had been fitted from new. (Car now in NZ awaiting restoration). It looked liked scaffolding tube and was clamped together. The car had been prepared by Jim Bayliss in Newcastle (Jay Bee Clubmans). I have also seen a few of the other privateer cars of that period fitted with this type of half cage.

Worst one I saw was a white Historic MK2 Escort racing at Oran Park , it barrel rolled on the last corner and the passenger roof A pillar ended up being pushed hard down on top of the gearlever.
Rollcage had the distinctive welding that you only see with aluminium, obviously been like that since it was built in 70s.
A Historic XJS owner I spoke to had chosen to the aluminium cage taken out and replace it with a more satisfactory material......wise man
However...not original now,

Some time now since Motorsport made alloy cages non compliant, even though they still appear to be FIA OK!