Stolen classic race car recovered
WELLINGTON: A stolen rare classic race car, believed to be one of only 11 in the world, has been located during a police raid in Lower Hutt.
The 1962 Brabham BT2 was stolen from Paraparaumu Beach in July last year.
The car, rumoured to have links to the Great Train Robbery of 1963, was uncovered when a search warrant was executed last Tuesday.
Owner John Rapley told police he thought the car would be gone forever.
‘‘Everyone told me it wouldn’t be seen again . . . The car is very special to me,’’ he said.
‘‘I built it up from a bit of wreckage — and the car has a big history. Everyone remembers it from the 60s.’’
Roy ‘‘The Weasel’’ James, getaway car driver for the Great Train Robbery, was purported to have driven it before his role in the crime in 1963, for which he was jailed for 11 years.
It is also believed New Zealand Formula 1 driver Denny Hulme drove it before it went to another racing legend, Graham McRae.
Mr Rapley bought the car in 1987, spending hours making it raceworthy.
Although it was no longer driveable, Mr Rapley was pleased to have it back: ‘‘She’s certainly had one hell of a ride.’’
The Great Train Robbery targeted a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London in Buckinghamshire, England, in August 1963.
A 15strong gang of robbers tampered with signals to stop the train before attacking it.
They took more than £2.6 million, equivalent to £50 million ($NZ98.9 million) today.
The bulk of the money was never recovered.
James, the getaway driver, was a Formula 2 racing driver, and claimed he turned to crime when he was unable to get the sponsorship to drive in Formula 1.
He died in 1997, aged 61. — NZME