Porsches add spice to Levels classics racing
All the hype has been around a miniature version of Richard Brown’s race car of recent times but this weekend it will be all about the real thing.
The Timaru man’s Datsun 1600 will run in a big field of classic cars as the flag drops at the three-day Southern Classic at Timaru’s Levels Raceway.
Brown’s car was recently reproduced as a miniature model by United States company Greenlight Collectibles, but this weekend the attention will be drawn back to the life-size version of his ‘‘priceless’’ car.
‘‘I’m looking forward to getting out and having another skid,’’ Brown said.
‘‘It was January last year when we last raced the car at the 50th anniversary meeting for Levels.
‘‘The meeting’s always bloody good fun. It’s nice and relaxed and a good atmosphere and everything.’’
Brown’s Datsun, built in the 1970s, was brought to New Zealand and restored by his late father, David, in 2005.
The car has been raced in the Southern Classic on and off since 2007, Brown said.
‘‘We run in the small saloons class . . . it’s quite a big field normally, there’s 30-plus cars. ‘‘It should be wonderful.’’ Race organiser Brian Dixon said about 140 drivers are expected to contest the various categories over the three days.
The biggest field would be the small saloon class, which had proven popular in past years.
A new edition to this year’s event was the South Island Porsche Racing Series.
‘‘There’s 10 of the Porsche GT3’s racing in that,’’ Dixon said.
There would also be 24 racing in the Formula Junior class. Dixon said eight of those were from the United Kingdom, four from Australia, and the rest from New Zealand.
‘‘The meeting’s always bloody good fun.’’ Richard Brown