STAR OF THE SOUTH

— SOUTHERN DRAGWAYS UNCOVERED

Starting out in 1980 at Teretonga Park, Invercargill, and holding five meetings a year, including the newest of events — the Burt Munro motorcycle drags — Southern Dragways is a small club that delivers big offerings. The south is also home to some of the fastest streetlegal cars in the country, such as the cars of local Riverton lads Brendon and Robert Shearing. We haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t love a bit of sibling rivalry, and it’s no different down in the south. The combination of the brothers hitting the track down south is worth watching. Brendon runs the second-fastest streetlegal car in the country — ‘WILDHQ’, a twin-turbo HQ Monaro. The strong engine combination that this car has its own merits, with the car throwing down a PB in the high seven-second zone. Brother Robert, with his badass, balls-to-the-wall-and-hold-on, heavy-hitter ‘AGRO 8’ Camaro, while not road legal — despite seen lapping the closed streets of Gore at a recent event — is regularly seen at Ruapuna in Christchurch, where it throws down some strong numbers both in terms of horsepower and quartermile times. Then there’s Chris Dalley, in his ‘SYCO’ ute with the newest tough combination to hit the strip. Based on the original engine from his ground-shaking GTS Monaro — which also sits on the list of New Zealand’s

fastest street-legal cars. It has managed to throw down a 9.8 — rather impressive for a car that’s not even tubbed. For those familiar with the New Zealand burnout scene, both ‘SYCO 8’ and the SYCO ute will not be strangers to you. Sadly, the GTS has been retired to street-only duties, with the motor once residing in this magnificent machine having had a freshen-up from Dion King at Old Iron Garage and now calling the ute home. This project is still in the early stages, but if the GTS is anything to go by, Team SYCO will be throwing out some pretty impressive numbers in the months to come, both on the strip and on the burnout pad! Fellow local Craig Smith, running his fully streetlegal 1967 Cortina, has run a best of a 9.38 thanks to the car’s small block turbo engine. The car runs a nine-inch diff and has enough power at the wheels to make packing that spare change of underwear something to consider! Craig’s brother Shane, who assists with the car, is one of Southern Dragways’ main sponsors through his business Doug Willis Ltd and also volunteers with others to assist in running the

Southern Dragways meetings at Teretonga Park. Added to this group is one of the country’s most well-known local tuners and regular racers — Dion King from Old Iron Garage. Dion has had his finger in the pie of some of the country’s quicker V8s and has worked on a wide variety of vehicles, including some of his own. Both Dion and his wife Tash are definitely no strangers to the strip, with Tash aiming for some lower times in the Old Iron Garage–built T-bucket this season. As part of the local Burt Munro Motorcycle Challenge, held yearly in Invercargill with a wide variety of events on offer, Southern Dragways hosts the Burt Munro quarter-mile motorcycle drags. With both old and new bikes, race bikes, and even pit bikes, this huge event draws in people from all over the world, as the bikes are run headto-head down the strip. They definitely breed them hard in the south, with the cold, four-seasons-in-one-day weather creating a culture where many throw their flask in the Hilux and pack the Swanndri. Thankfully, the trackside action is always hot. Despite the fact that the cars don’t perform static burnouts — as they run under limited conditions and because no VHT can be laid on the track due to other types of racing taking

place at the venue — the club draws large numbers of people looking to race. This is due to both the wide variety of machines that turn up on the day and the aforementioned cooler temperatures and the sea-level location, which mean that the cars can throw down a decent amount of power. With plans for the future including ensuring that the sport continues to remain strong in the south, there’s nothing that won’t be tried, and, let’s face it, Teretonga Park has the potential to be one of the best dragstrips in the world. There’s not one person that we know of who doesn’t love seeing the big cars run — the noise, the crowd, the entertainment — everything that makes a day at the drags what it is. The club would like to extend a huge thank you to all the volunteers and local businesses who support it: Doug Willis Ltd, the New Zealand agent for Smarttop Canopies; Riverton Farm Drainage; Transport Services Ltd; Clifton Club Inn; Magoo Auto; Happyplankton web design; and the Classic Car Warehouse — without their help, racing wouldn’t be possible. By supporting those who support the club, you’ll be helping the club continue to grow in strength. Want to know more about joining the club, or when the next race date is? Visit southerndragways.co.nz, check out Southern Dragways on Facebook, or contact club president Tyler Wainui-Murray on 022 080 1673.