Red flags on speedway logos
Blacklisted real estate agent in midget car controversy, writes Steve Kilgallon.
Fonterra has demanded the removal of a Tip Top logo from a speedway car linked to New Zealand’s most notorious real estate agent.
The dairy giant and Coca-Cola have expressed concern at their brands being displayed on a midget car associated with Aaron Drever.
Drever is a prominent speedway figure who gained notoriety after earning a five-year ban from the Real Estate Authority for a string of offences. He was heavily criticised for his role in the sale of an Auckland bowling green, with him brokering the on-sale of the land on the same day for a profit of over $500,000.
Drever was also held personally liable by a judge for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of debts incurred by a shortlived supermarket venture.
The midget car, which sported two Aaron Drever Motorsport logos, raced at a speedway event at Auckland’s Western Springs on January 5. Drever was seen in the pits with the car before the race, wearing an Aaron Drever Motorsport shirt in the same colours and logos, as were other pitcrew members.
He denied owning the car, which also had an advert for a takeaway business run by his partner. He said he was a sponsor and adviser to the car’s actual owner.
Drever is the track commentator at Western Springs, where he’s known as the ‘Voice of the Springs’. He has also run his own midget-car racing team.
The car’s driver, Daniel Thomas, raced for Drever for the past two seasons. The Sunday Star-Times has seen Drever’s subscription renewal from November to the Auckland Midget Drivers Club in November in the car owner category. His cocommentators mentioned the car as being his during their call of that weekend’s racing. Racing identity Danny Lendich confirmed his wife had sold the trailer used with the car to Drever. And sources said Drever had recently offered the car for sale, which he denied.
‘‘It would be not very smart for me to turn up with a car,’’ he said, referring to his recent woes.
‘‘It’s absolutely nothing to do with me.’’ He said he had only ‘‘helped them with a bit of logistics’’.
Drever reckoned there were ‘‘another 50 or so’’ cars which had unauthorised logos stencilled on them.
In a statement, Fonterra said its marketing team had contacted Aaron Drever Motorsport asking for the Tip Top logo to be removed, and the team had agreed.
Coca-Cola said: ‘‘I can confirm Coca-Cola Amatil NZ and CocaCola Oceania do not sponsor Aaron Drever or his midget car.’’
Andrew Farnham, who Drever said was the actual owner of the car, said he had bought it in the hope his 15-year-old son would drive it in future seasons. Drever had helped secure him the crew and driver.
Explaining the logos, Farnham said he originally planned to bring in a Cokesponsored US driver, and Tip Top had supply deals with Drever’s partner’s business. He said he would remove both logos.
Drever’s short-lived Auckland gourmet supermarket The Grocer’s Market remains in liquidation after opening for just five months last year. Drever was held personally liable for $488,000 of its debts after a judge said he ‘‘failed egregiously’’ as director.
Drever was also criticised for his role in assisting the Avondale Bowling Club to sell one of its greens in March 2018. Drever arranged for the sale of the green to his aunt, Beverley Spain, for $300,000 – and it was tipped on the same day for $825,000 to a property investor who said he thought he was buying it direct from the club. Drever later admitted that the deal was ‘‘morally, a bit s...’’. Police said last August they were investigating the sale.
Drever lost his real estate licence in 2016 after eight charges of either misconduct or unsatisfactory conduct and lost a 2017 appeal for its reinstatement. He won various real estate agency awards for selling millions of dollars of West Auckland property but when his licence was cancelled the authority said Drever was ‘‘unable or unwilling’’ to change and ‘‘the public needs to [be] protected from him’’.