Motorkhana Madness

Ruapuna Raceway, Sunday, January 17

Sunday dawned fine and sunny with a hint of warmth that most at the motorkhana seemed to miss, judging by the number of sunburnt faces at the end of the day (Deb and myself included). However it was a day well worth the price.

Following the advice of Dick Gurney, Deb and I (Red AW11) arrived at Ruapuna at 11:15 to find only Mike and Jan Kelly (Red Turbo), and Dean Strachan (Red SW20) sitting outside the locked gates. Where were our hosts, The Canterbury Car Club? The next to arrive was a Red Mk1 Escort followed soon after by organisers Kevin and Raelene Hocken in a burgundy Commodore (It’s a kind of red). Kirk Brocas and Vicki Wilkie (Red Turbo) joined us in time to sign up for the ‘khana. Dick (Red MK1) turned up in the afternoon to have a look-see. The sight of all 5 MR2’s being red seemed to tickle quite a few funny-bones among the CCC members - the comment was even made that Toyota had one hell of a can of red paint!

Dean, Jan and Vicki decided to be spectators for the day, and no amount of cajoling could change their minds. Since no Canterbury Car Club women entered, Deb was the only female competitor, which came as something of a surprise given the number of women there.

This was the first ‘khana for Deb and myself, and I must admit to having self-doubts when I saw the map of the 6 courses we’d be competing on. They’re MANZ sanctioned courses that had some of the experienced competitors commenting on their difficulty. Just in case the names mean anything to anyone, the courses were “Sabrina”, “Napoleon”, “Cyclops”, “Banana Slalom”, “Glove” and “S-Slalom”. Each competitor did two runs on each course, with the quicker time counting towards their overall time.

The event was run on asphalt with the 22 competitors split into two groups, each group running a different course simultaneously. Each group was a mixed bag as far as abilities went, so we all had someone in our group to try and emulate. The drivers to watch in my group were Kevin Hocken in a Mini Moke (someone told me he’s the national champion) and Ken Mackay in the 4A-GE-powered Escort. Ever seen a Moke execute a reverse 180 without slowing down? It was a first for me, and with that sort of driving it was easy to imagine Kevin as the national champion. Unfortunately he (or rather one of the other drivers in his car that day) snapped an outer CV joint during a hand-brake turn, which forced him to retire. Ken (and fellow Escort drivers) put on a great show of car control, demonstrating the benefits of hand-brake turns on tight courses. As I had my good street tyres on, I was unwilling to attempt any hand-brake turns, and so learnt the limitations of attempting a U-turn around a cone in a car with a 9.6m turning circle! On my shopping list is a pair of standard rims shod with dead tyres for the back wheels so I can also experience the benefits of legalised hooning!

Mike, I’m afraid I have to single you out for showing us how not to drive a motorkhana - namely stopping halfway through to look at the course map :)

All the MR2’s acquitted themselves very well, and my fears of having all the 2’s finish at the end of the roster proved unfounded. I was really proud of my little car, and surprised at getting 8th in my first attempt at any kind of motorsport. Both Deb and I are going back for the next ‘khana. It’s the same courses, only this time on grass.

Here’s a selection of the ‘khana results:

1st Steve Hall 130.56 Mini

2nd Ken Mackay 136.94 4A-GE Escort

8th Rex Webb 179.16 AW11 N/A

11th Kirk Brocas 181.75 SW20 Turbo

15th Deb Webb 207.53 AW11 N/A

16th Mike Kelly 211.78 SW20 Turbo

22nd Brian Casey 306.82 Mini

Kevin and Raelene’s attitude seemed to be "more the merrier", so if you’re near Christchurch and interested in attending the next motorkhana, give Kevin or Raelene a call on 327-7667 and tell them you’re with the MR2 Club. Only red MR2’s need apply :)

Many thanks to Dick Gurney and to Kevin and Raelene of The Canterbury Car Club for inviting us to participate in the motorkhana.

And before I forget - I believe Kirk and Vicki are getting married on February 6. Congrats guys!

Rex Webb

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