Race draws thrill-seekers of all ages

An annual Gore drag race aimed to provide a space for young people to speed and show off their wheels without getting in trouble with the law.

The annual Cobra Rodders 1/8 Mile Drag Race, held alongside the Mataura River on Sunday, was a place for speedsters of all ages to get their fix.

Run by the New Zealand Hot Rod Association (NZHRA), the competition took place in the blocked-off Woolwich St in East Gore.

Association area steward Peter Watson said one of NZHRA’s aims for the single-lane race, which included categories for hot rods, motorcycles and T-buckets, was to provide a legal and safe opportunity for people to compete at such high speeds.

"We're trying to encourage young people, instead of doing this on the streets around town, to come and have a go here," he said.

Mr Watson said the race was a chance for the association members to "run their car", compete and earn bragging rights if they won.

"It's a bit of friendly banter and competition," he said.

A young person engaging with the event, 12-year-old Milly Den Hertog of Te Anau, was racing on her GN125 motorcycle.

Milly’s father, Dave Den Hertog, who also competed, said his daughter’s interest in motorcycles started during the second Covid-19 lockdown when she was off school and needed entertaining.

"We had a heap of bike partsand she said to me ‘Oh, can we build me a bike?’," he said.

The pair built a 70cc Chinese bike which she raced when she was 10, making her the youngest child to race on a track bike, Mr Den Hertog said.

The father and daughter built the newer bike she was racing on Sunday during last winter’s school break.

Milly’s new bike was a gear-shift, which meant she could change gears with her thumb, an improvement she said was "really good".

Peter Lormans, of Queenstown, had the first and second fastest times of the whole event, at 6.38sec and 6.78sec respectively, in the "demo" category with his front engine dragster.

Robert Shearing took second place in the same category in his noisy big block Camaro clearing the 1/8 mile in 6.9sec.

Andrew Muir came second in the "sport compact" category with his Honda Civic.

ella.scott-fleming@alliedpress.co.nz