THIS MONTH AT V8
The Downtime Entertainment team pulled out all the stops, putting on a whole lotta wintertime fun at WinterJam!
You have to be brave to book an event in winter, particularly one that revolves around a hardpark and burnouts. But seeing more than 5000 punters come through ASB Baypark’s gates for the first ever WinterJam proved that if you get the formula right, and deliver on it, people won’t mind a few drops of rain. Smoke, headlights, and engine revs make for an ideal combo on a Saturday night, and, with a strong family vibe in the mix, the outcome is nothing less than solid. Word on the street was that it had been 15 years since the last official burnouts were held at ASB Baypark, and, when a further announcement was made that the event would be held in the twilight, spots were quick to fill, with the event actually selling out to around 400 competitors. The club scene was to the forefront, with emerging powerhouse Disruptive Car Club’s members travelling in numbers, along with new trophy winners Project Car Club, the alwaysstrong NZ Fijian Car Club, and a solid display from Tauranga Evolution. To the delight of the crowd, Girls in Motorsport also grabbed a first club award, while individual standouts included Steve Conder’s ‘PROHSV’ twin-procharger and Walkinshaw-kitted VL. Over on the burnout pad, Rob Macaree was the winner of the Pro class, with his methanol-injected HQ ute torching tyres and smoking out the whole venue, while competition regular Darren Roberts drove his silver ‘L1MITR’ Holden Commodore to V8 class victory. Others to showcase their considerable talents were Shane’s ‘1EV1L3’ Cortina, Ricky and Jenn Ireland’s ‘ENVEED’ Holden HZ, and Hayden’s ‘NUTOUT’ Holden HQ all the way from Wellington. Also notable was the insanely tough ‘ TUF RX’ RX-4 brought out to play by the team at High Performance Rotaries, screaming to the limiter and pumping flames out the exhaust. We congratulate Alan and Paretauira Togia and the rest of the Downtime Entertainment team on a superbly run and organized event, and for allowing such a spectacle to happen. We’re already hanging out for the next one — 2017 SummerJam, if you didn’t know. Same venue, December 23. See you there!