The Roaring Season

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Ken Smith with his driving instructor, Ken H !


(Photographer Paul Berkahn aka Paul B)

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The always friendly Brett Willis, with two TRS members, Mike Feisst (kiwi285) on the left and Paul Berkahn (Paul B ) on the right.
Brett has the favorite team footwear on !


Note in the next photo of Bruce Thompson, John McKechnie and one of Brett's team members,Rod Grimwood, that Rod has the same footwear as Brett ! Also note the large lump on Bruce's leg caused by a jack handle but it did not slow Bruce down !

Wilco Racing Team 1973 Lola T330 # 16 got off to a rough start with crown and pinion issues on Friday and a broken right driveshaft on Saturday but Brett had a good drive in the Sunday race.







Brett Willis accelerating away from turn One. A lovely track to be at even in the rain.


(Ken Hyndman photos)

The Rod Coppins Monaro with a great race history, rescued and faithfully restored back to it's former glory


The Fleetwood mustang was the very first Mustang to be raced in NZ


The ex Craig Pullman XB GT Falcon Coupe pumping an astounding 820hp


The Wiliment Mk1 Escort has a rich history of racing in the UK and NZ, very well preserved

Torana number 4..Jamie now owns her Dads old car and we gave her a big welcome her into our class
#45 Distinguished gentleman with the white beard and blue shirtwith me is John Climo.
He built the Zephyr Corvette 2 up for Rod Coppins to race in 1983.
You could say he started this historic saloon car movement.
He was impressed with the following this had .....and the fact the Mk 2 was still going.

John McKechnie wrote:Torana number 4..Jamie now owns her Dads old car and we gave her a big welcome her into our class
#45 Distinguished gentleman with the white beard and blue shirtwith me is John Climo.
He built the Zephyr Corvette 2 up for Rod Coppins to race in 1983.
You could say he started this historic saloon car movement.
He was impressed with the following this had .....and the fact the Mk 2 was still going.

Nice to see another girl out there racing amongst the boys. We had Natalie in her V6 Capri and what a great drive she had in all her races.

A bit more F5000.

Smith # 11 leading Higgins # 4 and the group out.

David Arrowsmith in his beautiful 1971 Lotus 70B # 67

Tim Rush in his 1972 McLaren M22 # 20

Glenn Richards in his 1975 Lola T400 # 99

Kerry McIntosh in his 1969 Begg FM2 # 39

(Ken Hyndman photos )

For me #46 first pic is what this meeting was for all of us saloon guys.
A huge thanks to Paul B for having the foresight to capture this memorable moment forever

We have 4 original cars, all with CODs.

Fleetwood Mustang.
Wiliment Escort
Team Cambridge Monaro.-
Pro Action XBGT Coupe.

All going out on the track together

I let Bruce with the Coppins Firebird take the Monaro out so he could enjoy this moment., and it was great for me watching.

I could not miss that shot (#46) with the 4 cars together.
I wish I took my big camera to get a better shot.

It was a huge privilege and honour to be allowed to take the Cambridge Monaro out on the track. I last drove that car 40 years ago and it brought back a lot of memories. It was hard to stop the laps, it just wants to keep going.

The car is a delight to drive, though it will get some further tuning.

Thank you John.

John McKechnie wrote:For me #46 first pic is what this meeting was for all of us saloon guys.
A huge thanks to Paul B for having the foresight to capture this memorable moment forever

All going out on the track together

I let Bruce with the Coppins Firebird take the Monaro out so he could enjoy this moment., and it was great for me watching.

Bruce Thompson driving the Cambridge Monaro during the wonderful demonstration laps. Taupo. Sunday Jan 21 2018.






( Ken H cheap photography service )

Bruce Thompson after his demonstration laps and about to find out that the left rear tyre (tire) had a slow leak and would not go on the track again at Taupo. We were all glad that the problem did not affect Bruce's driving. (Thanks Bruce )


Hyndman was told if he cleaned the wheels and the windshield he would be allowed to touch the sides !

Monaro had slow leak on Saturday,
Repaired the tyre Saturday night at Truck Depot.
Sunday we had a fast leak, lost 20 lb in 30 mins.....discovered this 1 min before race 4.
Should have left it as it was...............

Some of the other "Demonstration Lap" cars;
It was neat to see Paul Fahey relaxed and going out in the Tony Mexted PDL 1970 Mustang Fastback # 104.


It was a memory flashback for my cousin who came to Taupo, as we were both at the Pukekohe 1965 Wills Race when the Fleetwood Mustang was first driven by Ivan Segedin and Dennis Simmons and to see it beautifully restored and driven hard was great.


Another crowd favorite was to see Ivan Bevins drive the brutish Pro Action Falcon XBGT which had so much power that Ivan was getting crossed up even when accelerating on the front straight !

Ivan gave me the thumbs up as he waited for the Monaro to go by. He thoroughly enjoyed his time on the track. Imagine this machine on a wet track !

(K H photos )