Fiery drama at Motueka Dragway

The action was hot at the Motueka Dragway – uncomfortably hot for some.

The day’s drama was ignited in the first round of racing with one car suffering crippling damage from a fire under the bonnet.

Local driver Ross Hurley had just competed in the opening race of the day when the front of his Corvette caught fire on the way back to the pit area.

Fortunately, he was able to exit the car quickly and fire crews were able to extinguish the flames, but the blaze caused extensive damage.

Hurley was contacted by the Nelson Mail but declined to comment on the incident. ‘‘That’s not up for discussion,’’ he said.

Marcus Vaipapa was in the crowd on Saturday and captured the aftermath on video. ‘‘It was pretty epic but definitely a sad sight to see,’’ he said.

Saturday’s main event at the Rock 94.4 FM meeting was the Murray Thorn Motorcycles New Zealand Drag Bikes Challenge, which brought 11 riders from around the country.

Among the strong national lineup was Jacob Reece from Tokoroa, Marty Wilson from Christchurch and Baz Fox from Palmerston North.

However, it was Motueka’s Craig Adam riding his Harley Davidson V-Rod Destroyer who took the overall honours and $300 first prize in the class.

While pleased that the Drag Bikes event could be run to completion, Nelson Drag Racing Association president Karl Dykes admitted it had been ‘‘a day of hiccups.’’

Technical issues involving the computer running system had caused some issues during the day.

This had resulted in a delay to the start time, while the Corvette fire put the schedule back another hour to have the car removed.

However, Dykes said the club was looking forward to hosting the next two rounds of the NZ Drag Racing Association southern nationals on February 4 and March 4.