The weather seems to have been pretty good for ever and continued for most of the day other than the track getting damp for our 3rd race.
It was a very modest number of members (5) who took to the track for qualifying, well supervised by themselves as I volunteered to flag marshal by the big sweeper as the organisers were desperately short of flagies.

. We had a good turnout with new members John Mills in the 68 Penrite Camaro, Troy Giuse in the ex Justin Butcher 83 Dick Johnson replica XE Falcon, Daniel Adams in a white VK Commodore and Chris Anderson in the 78 JPS replica Mustang.

A nice fine day was forecast and that’s what it turned out to be but the day started very cool with the track a little damp. We had a great entry of 17 cars including new members Kayton Coughey in his 350 HQ and Andrew Ross in his Pinepac replica Falcon. The Muscle Car attrition god was certainly present all day however. We had 2 cars not even make it to the track being new member Chris Anderson due to enduring challenges convert his car from 4 stud to 5 stud and Michael Crawley with last moment clutch issues, we did however have a Greig Running as a guest running a Commodore for his very first race meeting.
Qualifying was led by Tony G in the Charger followed by Colin S in the Corvette and Colin M in the Camaro. We did however lose returning member Steve Swann in his Torana hatchback with oil line issues.

The weather forecast for our first round was bad which did not stop a good number of members entering however on the day some cars weren’t quite ready or the weather was too much to face so early in the season.
Qualifying was on the wet side of damp with Ross Golding leading the way but unfortunately not able to continue with the race day due to low oil

Round 5 for Northern Muscle Cars dawned on a very fine and warm autumn day with a large entry field that also included a few invited cars from Racing Saloons & Production Muscle Cars making a total of 18 entrants.

Well there were no concerns about the weather for this meeting although it was a little cool to start off with. It was good to see new member Dean Hansen here with Colin Sargison’s yellow HQ and Veen was back with his Commodore.
It was slightly unfortunate that we were first qualifying which lead to a few drivers not even getting out or if they did get onto the track no timed laps. There we various reasons for this some of us were still working on our cars, Paul with rear axle cap issues fixed, thanks to Tony McKenzie-Edwards and Dean with wheel bearing issues. Some were just late to the track Billy, and Michael got onto the track just for the chequered flag to come out. Allan Pearce set the pace however with an 1:11.599.

The weather was fine and we had a good turnout of cars including Tony Galbraith and Calvin Andrew who were racing for their 3rd weekend in a row as well as competing at Bathurst well done guys.
Qualifying was lead by Tony G for Class A then Billy Dunn with Dave Campbell 3rd fastest. Class B was headed by Paul Burnet, then Mark Stretton and Michael Crawley.

I must start by congratulating all the NZ drivers who went to Bathurst, who put on a very creditable display with some good sensible driving. Club member Colin Meadows can now say he has won a race at Bathurst.
We had a bad weather forecast for our second round at Pukekohe but a very good entry of 15 cars including a couple of guests being Clarke Hopkins with his silver hatch back Torana and Russell Dunn with his red XY Falcon
It was however to be a day of attrition with only two members cars completing all races and qualifying well done Ron Findlay and Robbo Robinson.

Well the new season seems to have come around very quickly, too quick for some members whose cars/engines are still being prepared. We did however have two new members
Mark Stratton and Dave Campbell get to the track with their cars and almost Robbo Robinson with his car but the evil work had first call on his time.
It was good to welcome back Stu and Billy to the class again.

It was back to the good old days for this race meeting using the original Puke track without the extra corners in the back straight. While some members had chosen not to change their diff ratios and took it a bit quietly in qualifying, others were going all out with Paul managing a PB of 1.05.7; other members’ times were set to improve during the day.

After not great forecasts during the week the rain kindly stayed away for our first meeting of the season. We had a great turnout of 17 cars made up of existing members, new members and new old members.
Returning member Tim La Trobe after an absence of 5 years grabbed pole with a time of 1:12.1 on a cold track, followed by Alan Pearce and Bruce McRae who was supposedly bedding in brakes.

While the weather gods were very kind to us, the mechanical ones decided they would try their best to disrupt the proceedings before they even started, with Dean Perkins, Anthony Baker in his almost-finished 240Z, and Ross Christianson in his LS powered L34 Torana all failing to get to the track on Sunday.
During the day we lost Ross Graham with rear suspension damage, Bruce McRae with a broken axle and Stu Rowling with an oil leak, along with Mike Dias in his great looking Winfield replica VN.

The weather forecast had been a bit iffy (that’s a technical metrological term) all week but on the day everyone was able to use their dry tyres for the whole meeting.

The weather forecast had been consistent for a whole week that the weather would not be perfect and believe it or not the forecast was 100% accurate. NMC and PMC were combined for this round due to PMC’s low numbers. It was great to see new member Karl Shields appear for his first race meeting with NMC both he and the car performed well but as Karl only had dry tyres he retired the car after race 1.

It was a great start to the season competitor- wise, with some new faces: Greg Holden in the beautiful silver XR Falcon GT and a guest appearance by Alan Pearce,we also had the initial outing of Max Christensen’s new Torana.

There was a good turnout to the AGM and Prize giving held at the Auckland car Club rooms in Mt Roskill.
There were 5 remits submitted and all were voted in with considerable majorities.

It was another beautiful day a Pukekohe for the last round of our series we had a good field which included guest Steve Ross in the very fast ex Paul Sinclair Commodore. It was also great to see Cam Crawford back after mechanical enhancements to his knee.

Race 1:
Starts off as expected with Dean in the lead followed closely by Tony G and Justin. Still within the first lap Andrew is sliding at Marshall Point 4. Tony G catches up with Dean in the second lap and is holding strong. Ross overtakes Smith and is coming close to doing the same to Colin.
Van Tiel and Andrews are battling well, whilst Tony G is now looking a bit smokey at turn 1.

Saturday morning saw the start of qualifying the cars and the drivers all seemed to be up to speed very quick and it was clear to see that everyone was up for setting a fast time. There was a chance for someone else to sit on pole today with the normal pace setter Dean Perkins missing from the field for the event.

Off to a very wet start. In the first lap the Red Flags are shown, caused by Dave Campbell (PMC) going into the wall under the GT Radial Bridge on the front straight – slicks were not a good choice! Stu Rowling stays on the track after the red and M2 sent out to clear.

It was another good entry of Muscle Cars with new member Adam Wheeler making his first appearance for a number of years, there were a few regulars missing like the two Charges of Tony Galbraith, his car not completely repaired after the accident and the last meeting, Graham Cargill's cars is nearly finished is cam shaft replacement and Andrew Turner's 05 car still not quite completed.