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2009 Drive NZ Classic Tour
Tour de Kiwi
Words Allan Walton & Roger Phillips
We report back from this 17-day adventure tour of the North and South Island
Saturday’s Drive NZ Classic Prologue at Pukekohe track kicked off the event with a bleak and wet offering but, with scrutineering out of the way, entrants were able to put in some reasonable laps in as a precursor of things to come. What would later take on an event long duel – between Ian Peter’s Lotus Exige and Grant Kern’s MGB V8 Peters – was already beginning to take shape. James Roskruge in his Lotus Elise R joined the pack during the drizzle, while a few hardy spectators watched the cars circulate in the rain.
It was about this time that the battery in the DNZ Jaguar XJ-S decided it was a good time to quit, necessitating a quick hunt around for a replacement; eventually sourced by Targa’s Peter Martin, who had dropped by to observe the start of the event.
With the day gradually beginning to brighten up, the Drive NZ Classic cars eventually departed the track and headed off to Whangamata for the first overnight stop. The following morning, the group moved on to Rotorua via Te Puke, as the direct Pyes Pa route was closed due to a bridge replacement. A quick side route took the cars around Lake Rotorua to Ngongataha, where the entrants caught up in a local marathon, which produced some interesting radio chatter between cars. After a quick stop at Te Puia, the roads got serious with a run via Rainbow Mountain through Waimangu and the Waikite Valley and onto the Huka Falls. After an enjoyable day of mostly back-road driving, the crews arrived in Taupo for the overnight stop.
Sunday dawned fine and sunny for a day of play at the Taupo circuit. Alex Beacham and Natasha Hadfield joined the event from Hastings in their supercharged Aston Martin Vantage and a serious amount of track time was put in by all. Grant Kern, driving his very quick MGB V8 classic race-car, provided nail-biting adrenalin rushes for anyone game enough to hold down the passenger seat. Later that evening, after an impromptu lakeside BBQ, the various crews compared in-car video clips filmed earlier in the day. It was a fitting end to a great day, with everyone retiring early to their beds in preparation for the following morning’s 7am start.
Bright and early on Monday morning, the cars set off for their next destination – Manfeild. With the benefit of sunny weather, the Vinegar Hill route to Fielding rewarded the entrants with some great views and a challenging road, with most getting into Manfeild around 9.30am to find Andrew Worth (Lotus Elise) and Keith Higginbotham (BMW 325i convertible) waiting to join the event.
Manfeild is a great track and some serious competition started to develop – along with some rewarding video footage – between cars such as the Beacham Aston, Tony Olisoff’s ‘Battlestar Galactica’ Lamborghini Espada, the wailing, V12-powered DNZ XJ-S Jaguar and Kern’s snarling MGB V8. All these ‘old school’ sounds threatened to drown out Andrew Worth’s whining Elise and the jet-like whisper of Ian Peters’ supercharged Exige, despite both cars being tested to their limits.
At one point, Peters experienced a brief, heart-stopping moment when an errant bolt clattered through the engine bay of his Exige whilst negotiating a sharp left-hander, However, his anxieties of the subsequent noise being the engine’s death rattle proved unfounded and a replacement bolt – sourced courtesy of Tony Olissoff –
saw the Exige back in business.
After a breathless day on the circuit, the crews unwound at the Raceway Motel.
After celebrating Andrew Phillips birthday, many of the entrants required a navigator get back to their rooms from the dining room.
Subsequently, there were more than a few bleary-eyed crews at the 5am start the following morning – although the sprint down-country to the Wellington ferry terminal supplied an appropriate jump-start.
South Island
After an uneventful crossing, with the usual bland Interislander breakfast, Ross Whitlock, Andrew Worth’s navigator, was picked up in Picton for the run down to Kaikoura for lunch. After a brief stop-over to check out the seal colony, Keith and Heather Hanham, who had travelled up from Christchurch, joined the event in their Lotus Elise Sport Racer. They were just in time to enjoy driving over the inland road to Mount Lyford, a challenging and twisty combination of long straights and precipitous corners crossing shingle-bedded rivers on the climb towards Hamner Springs. Once there, the night’s entertainment consisted of Tony Olissoff jokingly convincing all and sundry, in his best Russian accent, that he was indeed New Zealand’s sole Russian Mafia representative. One motel guest is probably still convinced she met Boris Yeltsin in Hamner Springs!
Another 7am start the next day, meant that the event organisers had trickily placed the group right in the middle of Christchurch’s peak hour rush hour. However, the crews finally arrived at Ruapuna Raceway for the event’s third track day. Alas, the weather took a change for the worse, with a rain soaked track making for some interesting lines – some even more interesting spin-outs. No names, no pack drill! Keith Higginbotham managed to get some excellent photos as the sun uneasily made the occasional brief appearance, before the cars finally departed for Christchurch’s Cathedral Square for a lunchtime car display.
Grant Kern and Toy Olisoff disappeared to handle some vital car fettling requirements, rejoining the event prior to the departure for the Lyttleton Tunnel, Port Hills and onto 40 winding kilometres over Summit Road. Much of the spectacular scenery, however, was hidden behind clouds that were being shoved along by gale force winds. The grey clouds parting occasionally to remind drivers of the sheer drops on offer for those foolish enough to wander off the road.
Australian entrant, Boyd Kolozs, who had competed on last year’s Lotus Track Tour event, brought his culinary appreciation skills to good use, finding an excellent fish restaurant at Akaroa for an enjoyable dinner. From thenceforth, Boyd – together with his co-driver, Igor Gordon, in the MGCGT – was designated as the event’s official food scout. A position they took very seriously, always disappearing into coffee shops and cheese factories on the wayward route around the country, with their MG commonly seen parked up at hidden cafés sampling local wares as the rest of the field breezed past on more urgent business.
The Deep South
At sunrise the next day, the cars left Akaroa en route to Macraes via Oamaru, a boring touring stage in amongst SH1 traffic – although the trip was somewhat moderated by a stop at the semi-legendary Fleurs Restaurant at Moeraki harbour for lunch following a brief visit to Tempero Coachworks.
From there, it was a short drive into Palmerston, then onto the roller-coaster road
that is Macraes Flat, with a short stop at the hotel to make a donation to the local
school before continuing onto Dunedin via a spectacular section of SH87.
It was at this point that the DNZ Range Rover cried enough, a faulty radiator cap putting paid to engine and any further progress. The Rangie was loaded onto it’s own trailer and farewelled as it was sent back to Auckland for a new engine, most of it’s large burden being transferred to a hired Toyota Previa, which now took over the Range Rover’s baggage duties.
The following day’s start began with an unscheduled detour via Kaka Point due to the event leader having lost his route book! Keith and Tony decided to explore the coast route whilst the rest elected to return via the Clinton Bypass so as to maximize their track time at Teretonga. Keith and Tony arriving at the circuit some 30 minutes after everyone else, extolling the virtues of their decision to continue on around the coast with it’s spectacular scenery and roads.
With some serious track work underway, an excellent lunch was delivered in from Ziffs fish restaurant Otatara, with a half an hour taken off to devour the largest fishburgers and fish-pies we’d ever seen.
Back on the circuit, everyone had worked out the lines – the resulting over exuberance producing a few spins at the hairpin onto the front straight. Ian Peters gave some instruction on the course from his Formula Holden days – and promptly put in the fastest lap of the day in his Exige
With another track day under their belts, the field headed off for a well earned rest in Wanaka, arriving at 6pm for a car cleaning session.
A leisurely jaunt the next morning, with the Previa and Lambo Espada pressed into bus duties for the Trip to Milford, with fine weather on the other side of the Homer Tunnel. By now, the pace was taking it’s toll, with Igor falling asleep on the Milford Sounds tour boat, his trilby hat beside him. On awakening he discovered the crew had donated in his upturned hat some small change, a condom, cigarette, pharmaceutical drugs, plus a promissory note to supply him a cheque should he contact the writer. A profitable day!
After a leisurely day gaping at the Sounds, the cars regrouped and headed to Queenstown. That evening, Tjeerd Huizinga and his son, Julian, joined the event in their Lotus Elan Plus 2.
A celebratory dinner for Grant Kern’s birthday (and to celebrate the arrival of a new brake disc for his MG to replace the original, that had finally cracked under the pressure) at the local Indian restaurant (discovered by the DNZ food scouts, Boyd and Igor) saw some rather strange get-ups. Grant sported union jack pyjama pants and a furry kiwi hat. Hats were the order of the night with Tony’s cossack hat and several trilbys of indeterminate vintage and colour hitting the fashion scene. We were later subjected to resident raconteur, Tony, in full flight with his hilarious rendition of ‘ze French Fighter pilot’ – alas, everyone was enjoying themselves so much that no one thought to break out their video camera.
The younger entrants partied on into wee small hours, with one navigator falling asleep, completely comatose, outside his father’s motel room door. Motel staff and guests stepping around his supine body so as not to disturb him.
A trip on the Shotover Jet early the following morning shook out any cobwebs with it’s adrenalin thrills and rock scraping spins lightening any hangovers. With everyone fully awake, the group made a quick trip up Coronet Peak to sample a blizzard underway in the parking lot, then headed toward Arrowtown for hot coffees before visiting the famous pub at Cardrona and the Warbirds Museum at Wanaka. The trip, via the Crown range, providing some excellent roads.
The cars eventually returned to Queenstown via Cromwell, to give the younger crew members a chance for a second night on the town. Maybe not, everyone was tucked up in bed by 10pm.
The Homeward Journey 
The trip to Mount Cook the next day was largely uneventful and, once there, all the crews took a helicopter sightseeing trip up to the glacier.
From there, the field toured down to Lake Tekapo for an overnight stop, heading out to Reefton via Arthur’s Pass the following day.
The DNZ XJS decided that a long wait at some road works along the way was enough and, in true classic Jaguar-style, refused to move. At first it seemed that, Joe Lucas – the Prince of Darkness – had withdrewn all spark. However, on further investigation it was discovered the fuel pressure valves had given up the ghost and relieved the injection system of any pressure. This was not something easily diagonosed by the roadside, so the big cat was loaded onto a trailer and sent to Hastings for the gentle ministrations of Beacham’s Jaguar.
That night the Reefton Old Nurses Home – our overnight ‘hotel’ – awoke to re-experience some of it’s past night life, with the crew shopping for and cooking a barbecue dinner any celebrity chef would have been proud of. We must have awoken ghosts of a past era as the TV continually turned itself on – at full noise – throughout the night, despite several successful attempts to turn it off. It also turned out that one of the home’s residents (a live one) had quite a comprehensive career racing open-wheelers alongside some of the greats, But I’d nodded off by then!
Suitable refreshed, the field indulged in a quick run through to St Arnaud the following day, taking several different routes including a great run down the forestry area of Kerr’s Hill Road and onto the WOW Museum at Nelson.
Lunch was kindly provided by Tjeerd and Nicky Huizunga at their home. By this time, Grant Kern’s co-driver, Graham Collie, had numb nether regions, they’d had a fair drubbing from Grant’s V8-powered race-car, and some navigator swapping ensued with competition for the more comfortable car seats.
From Nelson, the tour wound its way to Blenheim where Julian Huizinga (an RNZAF employee) showed us through Woodburn base. The offer to climb aboard the M*A*S*H chopper and trainer jets brought a whole new dreamy look into play.
Enough fun – onto Picton and an Irish pub before the overnight stop at the Yacht Club Hotel.
5am the next day, the North Islanders ready for the ferry – Heather and Keith Hanham didn’t bother to get up to see us off, having said their tearful goodbyes in Irish Pub the night before.
Back to the North Island
From Wellington, the field enjoyed a traffc- free run to Hunterville, arriving to see Tony and Kay Shacklock in their Silver Lotus Europa along with Chris Seel and Nick Batty in their Porsche Carrera waiting to join the final leg of the event.
Grant Kern and Graham Collie headed back to Waiuku to prep their cars for the Flying 50. Keith and Sue Higginbotham kindly provided luggage transport while Fay Phillips joined us in an X-Type Jaguar which would act as a replacement for the DNZ XJ-S for the run back to Auckland.
A twisty drive through the Mangamahu Hills ended up at Lawrence and Tracy Patterson’s property, where everyone indulged in a skeet shooting and whip-cracking contest. It says much for driver/navigator relationships that no-one got blown away at this late stage and that Tony Shacklock is crazy for trusting Lawrence to whip-crack a cigarette out of his mouth – blindfolded! I hear that Tony has now taken up smoking full time. A very tasty wild venison barbecue at the Patterson homestead rounded out a long day.
The Paraparas provided their usual challenge the next morning, with lunch at Otorohanga and a run thru Maihihi’s lush verdant diary land to Te Awamutu, From there, the cars continued on through Whatawata to the Lake Waikare run.
With the event almost over, the field returned to Auckland to prepare for the Flying 50.
At Manukau City, the course barriers went in at 5pm and the track was laid out and signed off by midnight. After an overnight rest, the field descended on Manukau for the big day.
A beautifully sunny Labour weekend and not an Aucklander in town meant plenty of spectator space, and a chance for the crews to lay some rubber.
Chris Allen in his Falcon – equipped with five squillion horsepower and with green-banded tyres to match his Falcon’s green paint – laid a green rubber smoke screen, over the tight street circuit.
Chris must have used a set of tyres per run – setting some type of record. Tony Olissoff swapped his Espada for a locally built Maserati Special, while Boyd Kolozs borrowed Grant Kern’s back-up MGBGT to round out a field of 17 that managed to keep the pursuit flowing on the street track until close of business at 4pm.
Graham Collie cracked out his Mercedes SSK replica for a few runs around the circuit, while Brian King impressed everyone with some very enthusiastic circuits in his self-built Jaguar AJS Special.
We could say that the Flying 50 was the perfect way to end the 2009 Drive NZ Classic tour but, the following evening, the crews met up yet again for the awards dinner at Iguacu Restaurant in Parnell.
Finally, on Labour Monday, a depleted field took the chance to join in with the start of Dunlop Targa NZ, enjoying a quick four-lap run around the newly opened Hampton Downs race circuit.
Later that day, as the event’s overseas visitors were waved off at Auckland airport, it was time to wind down an recall the highlights of a truly
memorable tour. By the next day, planning for next year’s events had already begun!
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