I ran into this accidentally, and I had no idea that this is the New Zealand version of stock car racing. It’s something altogether different, a cross between a demolition derby, bumper cars and tag team wrestling. There are two-car teams, and apparently one car tries to take out whoever is the biggest threat to your teammate. Or something like that. Quite amusing, for a few minutes.
This was indeed entertaining. Apart from this having fewer cars involved and the steel perimeter, it reminds me a lot of Banger Racing in Europe.
Seriously, why does this not exist in North America??? I could see it being more exciting than demolition derbies at country fairs. Short-track racing meets bumper cars.
Bumper cars for grownups! Where do I sign up?😎
I’ve never had the patience to sit through big-dollar professional races, and demolition derbies, at the other end of the spectrum, are fun to watch but grow old eventually.
My son and I have been to some LeMons races, and that hit the sweet spot for me. Though I understand why the organizers don’t allow it, I have always longed for more dangerous driving and crashes. This New Zealand stuff is the kind of motorsport I could get behind.
Wow, that’s a contact-heavy race! Like a combination of Nascar and rugby.
Great comparison. NASCAR to me is very American, like American football, with well-paid, well-padded hulking giants slamming into each other for a few minutes, then going back to the sidelines to be cared for by the pit crew. This, as you said, seems much more like rugby; direct contact, no pads or helmets, no special teams, my image of “purer” contact sports as played in Great Britain and Australia.
I’ve not given much thought to NZ culture outside of stereotypical images of sheep, but I find this little aspect of it quite appealing.
Ah yes, this.
It may not be widely known that this is always the highlight and finale of The New Zealand Festival Of Culture, preceded by a very short (and unpopular) opera recital in the mud.
(Bryce, mate! C’mon, where the bloody hell are ya? Defend!)
I feel that I should add a bit of insight, as a NZ’er. Eric up above compared it to a combination of nascar and rugby. I’d just like to perhaps modify that and say it’s a bit more like rugby league (which you’ve likely never heard of), as opposed to rugby union, which is what people in most of the rest of the world know as rugby. To explain a little further, rugby union is the more upper class game, as opposed to the working-class roots of rugby league. They both attract a certain type of fan, and there is also significant crossover between the two.
We also have other types of oval track racing here, with similar classes as the USA like midgets and sprint cars, in fact we have USA teams over here and ours head to the USA frequently too.
There is a certain snobbery around the classes, not helped that in Auckland they’re raced at two different speedways. One in the centre of the city, the other in an industrial area. Actually, come to think of it that’s the same for rugby and league.
Basically one can be seen as a more elegant and less violent version of the other.
Here’s an equivalent video of rugby league, or just “league” as we tend to call it.
Styles, thanks for the rugby education. I watched the link, and then was curious so I watched a few videos on Rugby League rules, etc. It occurred to me that I really had no idea exactly how the game was played. Now I do.
Yep, another Kiwi here, it’s been years (probably a decade or two) since I last went to the stock cars, but it was always loads of fun to watch! I’d assumed that it was international, didn’t realise it was our own special concoction.
Full contact motorsport no ,its not for the faint of heart or wallet it costs big bucks to build a competitive A grade stock car these days, Toyota a Hissan make excellent alluminium V8 engines that leaves more weight for reinforcing while still remaining under max American racers regulary come over to compete but are usually well out of their depth, It is Kiwi brewed Aussie has speedway but its of the non contact variety this where all those classic coupes ended their lives now fibreglass facsimilie bodies are used the real stuff is rare and too heavy,
Full contact motorsport no ,its not for the faint of heart or wallet it costs big bucks to build a competitive A grade stock car these days, Toyota a Hissan make excellent alluminium V8 engines that leaves more weight for reinforcing while still remaining under max American racers regulary come over to compete but are usually well out of their depth, It is Kiwi brewed Aussie has speedway but its of the non contact variety this where all those classic coupes ended their lives now fibreglass facsimilie bodies are used the real stuff is rare and too heavy,
a piece of UK Stock Car racing for comparison.
Just so you guys know these A grade stock cars are very big dollar items, they have to be built to be fast and extremely tough big allumimium Japanese V8 engines are popular as it allows for more reinforcing steel within mandatory weight limits of course there are cheaper categories to play in fully barred out street cars compete in street stock class at my old local speedway a genuine Sunbeam Tiger is still competing its been a speedway car for many many years and is well beyond any hope of restoration now, theres also a vintage class for older ex speedway cars which is more of the display variety with no contact as is mini stocks for kids and learners thats where the shortage of B210 and earlier Datsun 1200s came from mini stocks use Datsun 1200 powertrains but it is a KIWI only sport Americans do come over for teams champs racing but are unversed in how its done, so quite uncompetitive but teams champs at Robertson Holden speedway in Palmerston North is a major event drawing teams from all over NZ and fans from the same.