By ELEANOR BLACK
ROTORUA - Grease under the fingernails, a whiff of burned rubber and the throb of a rattling muffler are heaven to 19-year-old Rotorua "boy racer" Daniel Nicholson.
A place to race and skid his car legally would be nirvana.
Daniel and his speed junkie friends have an unlikely ally in
Deputy Mayor Johnny Lepper, who is pushing for the development of a "hoon track" for them to use at night so they can perform wheelies, skids and donuts until sunup.
Mr Lepper worries that the city's youth do not have enough recreational options and is tired of fielding complaints from residents who cannot sleep because young men with low-slung cars and serious sound systems are zooming up and down their street.
The skid track location he has in mind, still a closely guarded secret, would be a supervised no-alcohol zone where teenagers and twentysomethings could socialise without disrupting others.
"All the youngsters really want is a place to gather and fill in time and skite and all those sorts of things," he said.
Former boy racer Dave Porter, now Motorworld of Rotorua owner, is sympathetic to the plan. He says young men with heavily modified cars get a bad rap.
"I can relate. I used to cruise Queen St and I got tickets all the time but I wasn't doing anything really bad. These young fellows love their cars - it's a hobby. They're not out robbing dairies."
He wants events organised for the boys so they can enjoy their cars in an environment where they won't be "hassled" by police.
Daniel is all for that.
"We've been pulled up by the cops numerous times. I don't think anyone would have a problem with supervision. It's about being able to do what you want to do."
He says there are two kinds of boy racers - those who borrow Mum's car for the night, push back the seats, pull beanies over their foreheads, gulp beer and speed. Then there are the more discerning racers, like himself, who spend $20,000 to $30,000 modifying their cars and who wouldn't dream of drinking and driving for fear of damaging them.
Daniel's 1991 Nissan Skyline has 18-inch wheels, a $2500 heavy duty exhaust, a 2-litre modified engine, tinted windows and a black exterior paint job. A tyre technician at In City Tyres, he has sunk $30,000 into his car.
Mr Lepper said that the only hitch in the skid track plan was finding an adult willing to supervise it.
By ELEANOR BLACK
ROTORUA - Grease under the fingernails, a whiff of burned rubber and the throb of a rattling muffler are heaven to 19-year-old Rotorua "boy racer" Daniel Nicholson.
A place to race and skid his car legally would be nirvana.
Daniel and his speed junkie friends have an unlikely ally in
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