Motor racing: Title double team effort

Dual national titleholder Adrian Rivers (left) and his proud dad Grant with the 427 cubic inch motor that won them most of the points during the NZ Drag Racing series. Photo/Bevan Conley

Wanganui motor racer Adrian Rivers has dragged Wanganui into the national spotlight after winning two major trophies in Taupo over Easter Weekend.

The 26-year-old completed a notable double on a wet and cold Taupo drag strip competing at the 46th NZDRA New Zealand Drag racing meeting. He won in his Blu's Bros dragster after qualifying top speedster at the event that was also the final round of the 5-round national series in the Supercharged Outlaws division.

That victory, combined with his other season successes, gave him enough points to win the national series and gave him the honour of sporting two No1 stickers on his dragster - a feat no Wanganui team has ever achieved in the history of the sport.

The Blu's Bros chassis and running gear is owned by Graeme and Phil Blumont from Palmerston North, but the motor and transmission was built and tweaked by his father Grant Rivers, owner of Rivers Speed and Spares in Wanganui.

Rivers senior - a noted and well respected engine builder and racer - said they had used the larger 500 cubic inch motor that pumped out 1600hp to suit the difficult conditions at Taupo.

"It was wet and the track was cold. In fact, the meeting was supposed to run on Sunday, but was postponed until Monday because of the rain.

"And even on Monday the track was cold and every time he stood on it [accelerator] the wheels would spin, so Adrian did a fantastic job pedalling it to catch his rivals - he won it on sheer driving skills," Rivers snr said yesterday.

At Taupo, Rivers covered the quarter mile in 6.9 seconds clocking speeds of 198km/h in the cold conditions, slightly down on the New Zealand record he set in Masterton earlier in the season clocking a speed of 200 miles per hour (320km/h).

"He covered the quarter mile in Masterton in 6.7s shaving .5 of a second off the national record and he went through unbeaten in Nelson a couple of weeks ago - he's had a fantastic season," Rivers snr said.

Until Monday the best Rivers had done was achieve No2 in the modified division, while his 24-year-old sister Nicole has two No2 stickers - in the junior and modified divisions. She did not compete this year.

"I'm really proud of them both and especially Adrian getting two No1s," he said. "In all my years of racing I've never had a No1, but at least I can say I helped build and set up the motor for this season."