Upper-class? burnouts star turn at drags

AN "upper-class burnout" competition will help to get the drag racing season under way at Hood Aerodrome next weekend.
Masterton Motorplex has planned an extravaganza, including fast four and rotary drags on Saturday and V8 test and tune on Sunday, but it's the burnout competition they are most excited about.
Any similarity to the familiar Herewini Street anything-goes burnouts end with the name.
For Saturday night's meeting Masterton Motorplex has widened the concrete launch pad at the southern end of the runway.
The fours and rotaries drag-racing competition runs from 10am - 4pm, after which the seating will be rearranged in a square surrounding the burnout area.
The burnout competition, sponsored by webstar, kicks off at 6pm and runs through to 10pm.
Top cars and drivers will each have two minutes to do as much as they can.
Performances will be judged on car appearance, the driver's control of the skid, the amount of smoke and the amount of noise generated (both car and crowd).
Points will be awarded out of 10.
Masterton Motorplex events organiser Bob Wilton says top competitors are coming from as far away as Whangarei, Rotorua and Hamilton. These drivers specialise in burnout competitions ? there's even talk of a national series some time ? chewing their way through $400 worth of tyres every time they go out.
Each of them has their own tricks designed to provide the greatest impact, say Bob.
Petrolhead heaven!
This week we look at three very different cars that will be in action at the weekend, a Mazda rotary, a 1200 Datsun and a 454 Chev El Camino.
Star turn among them is a 30-year-old Mazda RX3.
The owner, who prefers not to give his name, has spent six months non-stop on it, often working until 2 in the morning.
He has done all the work, from the ground up, himself, except for the motor, which has been a big saving. He says he has spent $18,000 on the rebuild and the finished car is insured for $30,000. No, it's not for sale, even at that price.
For the record, the car is a 1974 RX3 coupe, painted Candy Apple Red and sitting on 16inch Simmons wheels and Toyo F24s.
The 13b peripheral port rotary engine has RX8 internals and is fuel-injected. The car has a Series S RX7 gearbox, custom driveshaft, Toyota Hilux limited-slip diff, height-adjustable suspension and retrimmed interior.
At the other end of the scale is Blair Chesmar's 1983 Datsun 1200 ute.
Blair, 22, a vineyard worker, reckons his car owes him around $3000.
"I've been offered more, but I wouldn't sell it."
The Datsun has a 1500cc engine with stage 3 camshaft, ported and polished head, twin 40mm Delortos and extractors leading to a 2inch exhaust. Blair has done all the work, including the black paint job.
He'll be looking to repeat his deeds of last year, when he won the four cylinders and rotaries burnout competition.
And just to remind readers of what drag racing is REALLY all about, Clive Cooper fronted up with his big red 1972 Chev El Camino.
Clive, an exporter, is a V8 man from way back. He bought the El Camino three years ago, and describes it as "not too modified".
He'll be doing burnouts and drags this weekend. He's not too sure about its top speed, but estimates around 150mph. That's overall, not in competition.