Motorsport: Three Whanganui cars set to compete at iconic Australian tracks

From left: Whanganui racers Grant Rivers, Tristan Teki and Sandra Eden will compete at the Bathurst 1000 race in New South Wales, Australia. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

The Bathurst 1000 and Sandown 500 will have three cars with Whanganui drivers competing this year.

The drivers are Tristan Teki in his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro called Batmobile, Grant Rivers in his 1985 XE Ford Falcon and Michael and Sandra Eden in their Holden Torana A9X.

The Bathurst 1000 in New South Wales, also known as The Great Race, is widely regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport in the Southern Hemisphere.

The three are among 14 New Zealand cars competing for the Touring Car Masters NZ team.

Teki said the number of Whanganui representatives was impressive.

“Fourteen of us going and three cars are from Whanganui, which is quite a big deal for a little place,” he said.

“There’s not many people that ever get to race at Bathurst.”

The event is October 9-12, while the Melbourne-based Sandown 500 is November 14-16.

Teki raced at the Bathurst 1000 nine years ago.

“I was lucky to race then and we won our class back then so we’re hoping for a repeat but you never know with car racing, it can go your way or go totally wrong,” Teki said.

Tristan Teki (left), Grant Rivers and Sandra Eden are part of the 14-strong Touring Car Masters NZ team. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

Teki was excited to compete again nearly a decade after his debut, with a top 10 placing his goal.

“I’m pretty excited, it’s probably the pinnacle of tracks in the Southern Hemisphere,” Teki said.

“We want to be up the front, that is what we are aiming for. We’ve got the goods, we’ve just got to put it all together.”

Rivers, who has been racing for 45 years, will make his first competitive appearance at Bathurst.

“It’s a bucket list [event] for me, at my age, to drive at Bathurst, I’ve watched it and been there around 10 times,” Rivers said.

When testing his new engine, Rivers ran into some trouble but will be primed and ready for the event.

Rivers said Whanganui had always been a motorsport city, capable of producing talented drivers.

“Every form of motorsport is in Whanganui - motorbikes, drag racing, motocross, jet sprints - everything is based in Whanganui,” he said.

Michael Eden has been involved in motorsport for 35 years, with his wife Sandra getting involved 10 years later.

Michael said Sandra would drive at Bathurst and he would take the wheel at Sandown.

“We’re certainly very excited and looking forward to it.

“Both rounds should be good but it doesn’t get much better than the Bathurst Supercar round with over 200,000 people over the three days.”

All drivers are studying the track maps and running simulators in preparation for the events.

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.