Call to relive glory days of stock cars

Murray Fleet, a former stock-car driver, wants to form a group made up of stock-car lovers from the good old days. PHOTO/ STEPHEN PARKER

Reporter Paul Mitchell catches up with former stock-car racer Murray Fleet to talk about Rotorua's racing scene - and about getting old-style cars back on the track

A local is looking to celebrate and relive the glory days of the Rotorua stock-car racing scene.
Murray Fleet has been involved with stock-car racing in Rotorua off and on for most of his life. Now he's now looking to get together a group of people who were involved with stock cars around Rotorua in the 60s and 70s when he used to race.

Mr Fleet wants to start it off as an informal group to share stories, photographs, memorabilia and expertise.

"I mainly want to get these guys together for information. They could've been drivers and pit crew or spectators, anybody with old programmes or photos.
"There were people in the crowd that used to take movies - they could have a movie that they took 40 years ago. For me that'd be bloody magic."

Back in the 60s, Rotorua was the regional centre for stock cars, with races held at Rugby Park. According to Mr Fleet, the races here "dragged in quite a large area" with cars coming in from Whakatane, Turangi, Taupo, Matamata, Tirau, and Hamilton. In those days they raced "flat-chassis" cars and most of the drivers built their cars themselves in their spare time.

The bodies of flat-chassis cars were basically just a flat piece of metal with a roll cage. They were phased out for modern stock cars in the 80s. It is the flat-chassis era that Mr Fleet is most interested in. "It was a different era and a different way of doing things and a lot of stories are going to be lost, a lot of the history of the club around here.

"Many of these people were there every week and never missed a meeting, they know everything that happened. The longer I leave it, the more of us that'll drop off and those stories will be lost."

Over the long term, Mr Fleet hopes his fledgling group will be able to get some of the old-style cars on the track again in Rotorua.

"I'm hoping for a bunch of guys that are dead keen. If we can get enough guys that want to build a car again we'll be able to get in there and have a roar around and put on a bit of a show."

Stock-car clubs in the Waikato and Auckland hold exhibition races of the old flat-chassis cars and Mr Fleet thinks it could be the same in Stratford and Palmerston North.

"They've got old cars racing on their track. Old guys like me found them and restored them, some have been lucky enough to find them in scrap- metal yards or just lying around the place. Why can't we have one here in Rotorua?

"It's a strong stock-car area and in the old days it was huge, still is now, we were just as good as anyone else.

"There's actually two or three cars that are racing in the Waikato group that were actually raced here [back in the day]. They should really be here."

If you were part of the stock-car scene in the 60s and 70s, or are interested in the old stock cars, you can contact Mr Fleet on (07) 332 3343.