Boy racers text plan to invade Rotorua

Out of town boy racers are planning to invade Rotorua this weekend in reaction to police cracking down on their illegal activities.

The racers have given the event a name, Operation Home Invasion, and 200 to 300 cars are expected to converge on Rotorua. Their main form of communications is through text messaging. The Daily Post received information saying the boy racer crews from Hamilton and Tauranga were heading to Rotorua on Friday in response to Operation Handbrake, a police programme targeting the boy racer fraternity.

The operation also has the backing of Rotorua boy racing "crew" Reckliz Shiftaz who say bad drivers are giving them a bad name.

Police converge on areas where boy racers gather, blocking roads, checking that all the vehicles have current warrants of fitness, are registered and are not illegally modified, as well as breath testing drivers.

Police were aware of Operation Home Invasion, acting Senior Sergeant Denton Grimes, of the Rotorua police Strategic Traffic Unit, said.

"That is why we have continued with Operation Handbrake every weekend."

Mr Grimes said he was disappointed the boy racers had taken the police action as a challenge.

"If they feel they want to take up the challenge they've taken it the wrong way. We are here to promote road safety, if they don't offend we are not going to bother them."

Reckliz Shiftaz member Marcelle Saunders said boy racers were getting a bad name because of recent street racing incidents.

An Auckland delivery man died on Monday after he was hit by a car that witnesses say was involved in street racing.

"These people are stupid and it's not fair on us. They are sort of letting us all down. I'm just scared one of our boys is going to get hurt."

Ms Saunders' partner, James Simmons, who is the leader of Reckliz Shiftaz, said they had no problem with what the police were doing.

"They tend to leave us alone as long as we stay out of trouble."

He said he had not heard about the Hamilton or Tauranga crews coming over to Rotorua and saw no problem with them coming.

"It's not a territorial thing when it comes to other crews. We like to get together and check out each others' rides and pass on tips."

Mr Simmons said his crew discouraged others from street racing and said there were proper drag racing events in Matamata to do that type of thing.

"It's [street racing] just careless driving that you should not be doing in public."

Mr Simmons said his crew got annoyed when "idiots" started pouring diesel on the road and doing burn-outs.

"Once that starts happening we know it won't be long before the police turn up so we don't hang around."

He was also aware the public frowned on the crews travelling in convoy.

"We don't do it to be a nuisance, we do it to show the other crews how tight we are."

Mr Grimes said the boy racer culture had grown in the last couple of years with Tauranga being one of the largest in the Bay of Plenty. He said Rotorua had become a popular gathering spot for racers since the Tauranga District Council passed a bylaw last month that bans racers from Tauranga's industrial streets at night. The by-law followed the May 2007 death of the starter of an illegal race in Mt Maunganui.