Gourdie sets new record

The sound of a near-silent drag bike couldn't out-roar, nor out-shine, Nelson driver John Gourdie who, for the second time in as many weeks, set a new national drag-racing record.

The new record, yet to be ratified, was 8.082 seconds over the quarter mile at the The Rock 94.6FM Motueka Dragway on Saturday. The record, along with the win in the competition class of the national Century-Yuasa national points score series, leaves Gourdie in second place with just two events to go in the seven-meeting championship.

He said he was especially happy to do it on his "home" track but feels there is still room for more improvement.

"The plan at the start of the year was to get it into the sevens [seconds over a quarter mile], and we are really close, so with two meetings to go hopefully I can break that record again," he said.

The event was the third of four to be hosted in Motueka this season but was by far the most important with it being the only one with national points up for grabs and with drivers travelling from all over New Zealand to take part. Last week, round six of the national competition was held in Christchurch, the next meeting of the series takes place in Masterton in two weeks time.

Gourdie has been in hot form this season since putting a new engine in his 1923 Ford T altered car over the winter. His record stands in the B-altered section of the competition class while his chief rival, Alan Ryder of Balclutha, is in the A-dragster section.

"We'll keep chipping away," Gourdie said. "There are a couple of things in the car that we want to tweak so hopefully we can get it going faster and see what happens [in the title race]."

In the hotly contested Top Street section Wayne Grimmer, of Auckland, in his black Barracuda was the big loser of the day as he red-lit at the start of his semifinal against

Roger Binnema, of Balclutha, disqualifying him from the race. Unfortunately it was the last race of the day for competition leader Binnema, as his supercharged Honda blew a head gasket in the semi and couldn't make the starting line in the final, handing the win to Amberley's Dave Rosewarne.

In the modified division, Andy Chapman from Taupo beat Nelsonian Wayne Stirling, while another Nelson driver, Tony Fleming, also finished runnerup in the Super Sedan section to John McGinty from Lower Hutt. The success of local drivers continued in the Super Street division where Nelson's Ross Wood beat visitor Rob Chesham.

In the Competition Bike bracket, Chris Gaines from Moutere out-sprinted Auckland's Dean Veale while Bill Hamilton, also from the city of sails, beat Motueka's Michael Dabinett in the Street Bike section.

While the racing on the track was as hot as the relentless sun above it, it was two exhibition vehicles that really had fans arching their necks for a closer look as they sped down the Motueka tarmac. The first was an orange funny car which competes in the Castrol Top Alcohol section, the sport's elite class. But there were no competition points up for grabs in that section due to track restrictions in Motueka, so it was a treat for local fans to see the car in action.

Driver Morice McMillin, of Hamilton, said he was thrilled to be in Motueka to exhibit his car.

"It's so mint with all the hills in the background and everyone was so friendly. I'm tired from talking to people all day, but a good kind of tired, it's great to see people excited about the car and the racing," McMillin said.

His car can go from 0 to 100kmh in 0.9sec and covered the Motueka quarter mile in 6.66sec reaching 339kmh in its second to last run. Unfortunately for McMillin, and the fans, a burst panel in the supercharger blew halfway down the track on his last run of the day.

"It was fair honking it on that last run, it's just a shame it blew, I felt this track had a six in it, the car felt good and the power was there."

The second exhibition vehicle to thrill fans was the world's fastest electric vehicle, the Killacycle, which is on tour in New Zealand from its home in the United States.

The eerie sound of the bike doing a burnout while making as much noise as a golf cart had fans looking at each other in disbelief. But the sight of it doing the quarter mile of the Motueka track in just over eight seconds had them grinning from ear to ear and the younger members of the crowd slowly taking off their cumbersome earmuffs for the first time of the day.

Rider Scott Pollacheck said the bike, which has a record of 7.864sec over a quarter mile, is similar to riding a gas-powered bike apart from the noise.

"Usually when I line up at the start of a race all I can hear is the sound of the bike and I really get in the zone, but with this bike I can hear the announcer and the crowd, it's really strange and can be distracting."

The eco-bike can reach speeds of 270kmh and Pollacheck said he was happy with the Motueka track.

"I thought it was a good track and I enjoyed coming here. Since we've been in New Zealand we've had a great time and coming to places like this has been fantastic. We certainly get plenty of questions about the bike because it is so unusual."

The next meeting at the The Rock 94.6FM Motueka dragway is on April 3.

- © Fairfax NZ News