Tyre-popping donuts give crowd the thrills

A LARGE and enthusiastic crowd was not deterred by the unsettled weather for the third annual Kaipara Car Show.
Held on the Vuletich property at Hoanga, near Dargaville, what started as a local event three years ago has gained momentum each year. Visitors from Australia and America now attend the event, which had 58 vehicles contesting the burnout competition. The hot rods and a burnout competition on the purpose-built pad drew the greatest interest, with the competition continuing until well after dark.
The burnout competition was held in four categories _ four, six, and eight cylinders, and rotary powered motors. The winners were usually the cars that made the loudest noise, biggest smoke trail, and burned the most rubber, and were voted by the crowd.
This year's overall winner, Anthony Mager, gave the crowd what it wanted. His V8-powered Hilux double cab ute, fitted with Kumho scorchers - burnout tyres costing $500 apiece - sent out a bright red cloud of smoke before the tyres finally popped.
It was good enough to take out the $6000 overall prize to add to the $500 already won in the V8 section.
It was the second time Mr Mager had entered the competition, being unplaced last time. He said he had a few practice rounds on the pad before the competition just to get the feel of what he could do.
"It was really exciting," he said after his win.
His motor overheating didn't faze him in the least. Apparently entrants expect to blow their tyres and have a few engine problems during these events. No doubt the prize money will come in handy.
After the competition, the crowd enjoyed musical entertainment before heading off for some sleep ahead of the Sue Ker Memorial Cruise yesterday. A more leisurely event, the cars cruised from Dargaville to the Kai Iwi Lakes as a breast cancer fundraiser in memory of Mr Vuletich's mother.