Catherine Wellington

No-one could ever accuse Wanaka athlete Simone Maier of being soft.

A successful blend of speed, consistency and commitment enabled Dunedin's Steve Ross to claim his third NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival title at the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Feilding's Manfeild circuit at the weekend.

Steve Ross (McRae GM1) has become the runaway leader in this season's NZ F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series after a clean sweep of the three races at the fifth and penultimate round.

Jolene Van Vugt will be the only female performing with the Nitro Circus when it blasts into Dunedin today. She is a national motocross champion, the first female to backflip a full-sized dirt bike, a holder of multiple Guinness world records and co-star of many motocross and stunt videos. Catherine Pattison caught up with the 34-year-old Canadian action sports star.

A strong contingent of Otago riders is spread across three classes in this year's four-round New Zealand motocross championships, set to start in Taranaki this weekend.

While the Nitro Circus tour promises to go off with a bang, two Kiwi freestyle motocross stars scheduled to visit Dunedin as part of the Waitangi Day high-octane action sports show have been courting a bit of quiet time.

Fuelled by an unscientific combination of Raro and gingernut biscuits, former Christchurch athlete Keith Murray set a Coast to Coast record in 1994 that still stands today. Now a Wanaka resident, he tells Catherine Pattison his race nutrition habits haven't changed and how he expects them to get him through a five-day adventure race this year, aged 53.

Living in the Southern Lakes region it seems there is something in the water, air and mountains conducive to getting kids into the Great Outdoors. Catherine Pattison talks to three Hawea fathers who have made the transition from participating in extreme sports to parenting pint-sized kayakers, kite-surfers and adventurers.

Eight years ago, Otago Daily Times motorsport writer Catherine Pattison started reporting on the rallying exploits of a young driver from Geraldine. Now, Hayden Paddon is on the world stage. Pattison helps the rally ace reflect on an exciting year.

Wrestling a brawny, 41-year-old F5000 race car that has ''steering issues'' around a circuit is a sure-fire way to wear a man out, Steve Ross reckons.

Hayden Paddon plans to channel experience gained on the Otago Rally's slippery forestry stages when he contests the final World Rally Championship round, Wales Rally GB, this weekend.

Otago drivers popped up all over the class podiums in the 1+01 (one-hour-plus-one-lap) mini-enduro at Highlands Motorsport Park on Sunday.

Highlands Motorsport Park owner, promotor and competitor Tony Quinn couldn't have asked for more from the Cromwell facility's second running of its 101 endurance meeting at the weekend.

The Highlands 101 endurance race delivered in sensational style yesterday when the race circuit's owner, Tony Quinn, and Garth Tander snatched a last-lap victory.

Glenn Inkster and co-driver Spencer Winn further extended their lead as rival pairings stumbled on the second timed day of the 2014 Targa South Island in North Otago yesterday.

Claiming her first spot in a Red Bull Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) final, Emma Gilmour ended her season on an absolute high in Las Vegas yesterday.