The Roaring Season

NZ GP meeting December 1984

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#442 Red RX3 with yellow wing on rear, the wing was actually off my Escort, (Ralt RT1) On practice day I fizzed a motor (this was actually last time I ran the car) Car was on trailer and we were having a beer and discussing the demise of the trusty old Ford 2Ltr. When (sorry can not remember the guys name) came over and started talking about the wing and did it really do anything. I told him to 'try it tomorrow' and we unbolted it and gave it to him. He turned up on Sunday with it mounted in the boot. we just had a quick look and wandered up to the hill to watch. Well first time down the back straight about where the kink was a huge trail of smoke down to braking for hairpin. All clear over hill and then smoke trail down front straight. He backed off and went to pits. We shot over to see what was going on and he said ' the back wheels are rubbing' we had a quick look and they had moved the setting to what we would run at Bay Park (basically full on). We reset it to what we ran at Puke (layed right off for top end). Next race he still just had rub on back straight but it sort of showed it did 'work' and was not just a BBQ table for after. Obviously we also had different springs etc for different places but he was convinced it worked.

Rod, I could be wrong but I think his name was Shane Watson, he had some connection to the Frays and Chevron Sports Cars. I see in one of the other photos, post #448 a green LH Torana about to lap the rotary hoes!, is that Shane Windelburns car that Peter Meadows ploughed into in his Corvette just before the hill at the Grand Prix meeting. Ray (ERC) have you got many photos from that same meeting as that RX3/ Nissan photo, a pink MK1 Escort in the Sports Sedans?

#581 on the Historic Sports Sedan thread shows the same red RX3 (87) without Rods spoiler running with Barry Algie

fullnoise68 wrote: Ray (ERC) have you got many photos from that same meeting as that RX3/ Nissan photo, a pink MK1 Escort in the Sports Sedans?

I have a few more pics from that meeting but I can't recall a pink Escort - but when scanning, there is often stuff in the background that cropping shows up. Cost of film and processing being what it was, not to mention sending maintenance money back to the UK during Muldoon's pay freeze, thanks to an ex who flew off with my son, curtailed the number of photographs taken.

I also took a fair few slides over the years, but delving into that massive pile will be significantly more difficult to date accurately. Logging every single negative is bad enough as occasionally, a bit of detective work is required. Thanks to the good folk on here, some gaps have already been filled in. So far, about 7,600 negatives logged - and I am just up to the beginning of 1986! Motoring probaby accounts for between 40 & 50% of all pics taken on film, but with the advent of digital photography, the actual number of pics has sky-rocketed, but filing them digitally is a relative breeze.

Same car John, I think that`ll be the Grand Prix meeting which Rod and I would have run our Escorts in the Sports Sedans `Hansells Sun Valley?' The red Camaro in that photo may be Chris Toms from West Auckland, I think Mac Workman may have had something to do with that Camaro at the same time running his Commodore Sports Sedan.

fullnoise68 wrote:Rod, I could be wrong but I think his name was Shane Watson, he had some connection to the Frays and Chevron Sports Cars. I see in one of the other photos, post #448 a green LH Torana about to lap the rotary hoes!, is that Shane Windelburns car that Peter Meadows ploughed into in his Corvette just before the hill at the Grand Prix meeting. Ray (ERC) have you got many photos from that same meeting as that RX3/ Nissan photo, a pink MK1 Escort in the Sports Sedans?

I think the LH Torana in this picture could be the car that John Turner raced around this time It was black,
whereas the Windelburn car was a dark gunmetal grey You are correct that the Windelburn Torana suffered
some severe damage as a result of the lack of talent that Peter Meadows displayed at that Grand Prix meeting !
It was also attacked on the startline, at a Pukekohe club circuit meeting, by some of those rotary hoes Rod
Grimwood, of whom many people on here will have now heard of, rectified that situation by administering some
'bush justice' in the pits afterwards, which certainly raised an eyebrow or two

So then all the Old stories are correct, there is an all knowing and all seeing presence that gives out a terrible vengence when aroused

fullnoise68 wrote:Same car John, I think that`ll be the Grand Prix meeting which Rod and I would have run our Escorts in the Sports Sedans `Hansells Sun Valley?' The red Camaro in that photo may be Chris Toms from West Auckland, I think Mac Workman may have had something to do with that Camaro at the same time running his Commodore Sports Sedan.

That Camaro was built by Lindsay Willis and for Chris Toms and I think Mack Workman was going to take it over but it did not happen and it went to Barry Search from Wellington who had been running a fairly quick Cortina Mk4 V8.

Bailey, shush. That's how rumours start. You got John going already.

Looks like early 1986 but would appreciate a confirmed date;

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Paul Leuch talks, John Holmes listens.


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Once again, I don't seem to have a race programme for this event so the date is important. Maybe Graeme can help as it shows the Bucklers?

Looks like decent crowd too.

fullnoise68 wrote:Rod, I could be wrong but I think his name was Shane Watson, he had some connection to the Frays and Chevron Sports Cars. I see in one of the other photos, post #448 a green LH Torana about to lap the rotary hoes!, is that Shane Windelburns car that Peter Meadows ploughed into in his Corvette just before the hill at the Grand Prix meeting. Ray (ERC) have you got many photos from that same meeting as that RX3/ Nissan photo, a pink MK1 Escort in the Sports Sedans?

Think you are right with name Steve, he and his mates were a good bunch and the connection with the Chevron Sports rings a bell. got a photo of him, Vern and me at Puke somewhere.

This was in Herald with a bit of a write up on car clubs. It was a Auckland Car Club meeting.

note the Escort was in club disguise with no wing, just boot tub.

Rod Grimwood wrote:Think you are right with name Steve, he and his mates were a good bunch and the connection with the Chevron Sports rings a bell. got a photo of him, Vern and me at Puke somewhere.

Hi Rod, was wracking my brain about this when I saw pics of the little red Mazda a couple of days ago. I'm confident that the name you are looking for is Scott Watson. Pretty sure he worked for the Frays. Only reason I can remember is because my now Father in Law ran the Pitstop exhaust shop next door to Chevron Engineering in Onehunga all those years ago at that time. Remember watching that little RX3 run in the Sports Sedans - it was pretty damn quick too.

Yep, his name was Scott. I remember something happening to his tow-car or trailer on the motorway so he rolled the RX3 off the back and drove it to Puke - nowhere near road-legal or low-profile! He was a good pedaller as i recall.

Thanks guy's, yea that him worked in Onehunga at Frays, remember calling to see him now. He was a good driver and the RX was pretty quick.
You wonder what these good guys went on to sometimes, be good to know and get in touch with them, there was a good group of guys back then playing amongst the serious. The mid field was a tight bunch on and off the track.

I haven't even tried to date this one yet or even identify the driver/car! Possibly December 1984?
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Looks like Riley Hopkins in Grant Campbell's car. Not sure what year though

Habu wrote:Hi Rod, was wracking my brain about this when I saw pics of the little red Mazda a couple of days ago. I'm confident that the name you are looking for is Scott Watson. Pretty sure he worked for the Frays. Only reason I can remember is because my now Father in Law ran the Pitstop exhaust shop next door to Chevron Engineering in Onehunga all those years ago at that time. Remember watching that little RX3 run in the Sports Sedans - it was pretty damn quick too.

Let`s just hope it wasn`t THE Scott Watson that made headlines involving a yacht a few years back ......

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Just for JAFA
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Thanks Ray, I don't have any pics of the old girl on the track, and only a couple from Targa Bambina 2001, which turned out to the the cars' last event ( not because we crashed either!! We finished well and didn't put a mark on the car ).

That is Paul driving ( at Manfield? ), and how the car looked when I bought it from him. I wasn't a fan of all the stickers, and cleaned it up a little, and this is how it looked the whole time I ran the car.




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This is a very useful website and the most amazing range of venues and events covered.

If anyone can add to the site, it would be appreciated.

http://www.progcovers.com/motor/pukekohe.html

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As you can see, there are obvious gaps needing to be filled.

Nissan 500 Meeting - February 1985.

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One or two well known people here... (Well known as flaggies anyway - and at least one VCC driver, maybe 2?)











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