Petrol heads from as far as Gore and Auckland were gutted at the weekend when drag racing at Hood Aerodrome was cancelled because of rain.
Masterton was hosting the NZDRA Points Score Round, the second round in a national series that drew New Zealand's fastest dragsters to Masterton on Friday.
Motorplex co-ordinator
Bob Wilton said the cancellation was hugely disappointing because Masterton was the only other place outside Auckland chosen to host the races.
"It's a big national event and we had the fastest man in New Zealand come down, Tony Marsh."
Mr Wilton and the other organisers were looking nervously at the heavens early Saturday morning and made the cancellation before drag fans arrived at 7am.
He said those powerful cars only needed a sprinkle of water to skid out and so safety came first, but he never relished cancelling events.
"There's definitely a financial loss. We have to do radio advertising, newspaper advertising, we have to get the toilets out and prepare the track - so it's a big call on the day, but if it's rain you can't do anything about it."
As a national event there would be no alternate rain day, and the NZDRA nullifies its Masterton round and resumes the final leg of competition in Auckland.
The next racing event at Hood Aerodrome would be held on April 9 and 10 featuring nostalgia and Australian-made cars.
Twenty-five millimetres was recorded in Masterton over the weekend, 7mm on Saturday and 18.4mm on Sunday.
