Day of Thunder for Dixon
Scott Dixon, 23, racing for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing Team, claimed the Indy Racing League title in Fort Worth, Texas. It was his first attempt on the circuit. Finishing 2nd in the season's nerve-racking final race, the Chevy 500, was enough to see him clear of Indianapolis 500 winner, veteran Gil de Ferran, and a handful of fender chasing rivals. It's a huge step towards furthering his ambitions to race Formula One. He is backed by motor-sport legend Chris Amon. Dixon, who won $US1 million, was elated, "to come out on top of this...I can't put it in words. I just feel so happy and can't wait to come back next year."
(13 October 2003)
      

Ice Man wins Indy 500 
New Zealander Scott Dixon, 27, woke to the traditional 6am race-day explosion, ate American pancakes with hot syrup for breakfast and then from pole position drove 200 laps to win the 92nd Indianapolis 500, a race "filled with antics and accidents" including a pits fire and two spinouts. That was the kind of race Dixon was forced to negotiate, and that was why he needed every bit of his notable élan. "He's been like that forever, ever since I've known him," team owner Chip Ganassi said. "He has a quiet confidence. That's his trademark. That's a powerful tool." Dixon is the 18th driver in the history of the Indy 500 to record a lights-to-flag victory. Sports historian Keith Quinn rates Dixon's victory "well inside" the top 10 sporting feats by a New Zealand sportsperson, including those achieved by Olympians Jack Lovelock, Peter Snell and golfer Michael Campbell's victory at the US Open. Quinn said: "We have honoured Denny Hulme in the past with the highest accolade - induction into the Hall of Fame - and this has to be as good as winning the Formula One series, but probably bigger because of its audience grab in the US and the significance over there." 
(26 May 2008)

Beauty and the beast
Black Beauty driver Jonny Reid took on a Boeing 777 at Auckland International Airport this month, in a dramatic promotional stunt for January's A1 Grand Prix event in Taupo. The race car and the Air New Zealand jet won a race each on the tarmac, with Reid's car reaching speeds of nearly 300 km p/h. Race teams from 21 nations competed for the A1GP Taupo on January 20, with Reid's victories placing New Zealand at the top of the race table. 
(8 January 2008)

World first for Scary Mary
Papamoa's "Scary" Mary Perkins is the first woman in history to tour with freestyle motocross legends the Crusty Demons. The 24-year-old is currently the world's number one female freestyler and holds the record for the longest ramp jump by a woman. "Some of the guys were probably a bit sceptical when I first came along but I think I've slotted in well and I just went out and did my thing. I'm not in it for them, I'm in it for me," said Perkins in the Bay of Plenty Times. The Crusty Demons have just wrapped up their six-stop Kiwi Carnage tour, which has seen them perform before more than 70,000 NZ fans. Next up for Perkins is an attempt to crack the more lucrative US market. "It's something different and I'm keen to break into the scene, which is pretty big over there," she says. "It's not major money - I won't be getting rich and retiring - but I'm not complaining. I'm doing what I love." 
(28 February 2007)

Life of a legend 
A film based on the life of NZ motorsport legend Bruce McLaren is rumoured to be in the works. According to Grand Prix website, the production has been linked to "some of those involved with the Lord of the Rings trilogy." McLaren was one of the first New Zealanders to enjoy racing success in Europe, winning his first Grand Prix at 22. He launched his own formula one racing team - Team McLaren - in 1964, which has continued to dominate the sport long after its founder's death in 1970. 
(8 January 2007)

Mind over matter 
NZ neuroscientist Dr Kerry Spackman is working with Team McLaren to uncover the workings of a racing driver's mind. "In most sports now, the modern athlete is pushing his brain to the limit," he says. "Today's F1 car does things almost instantaneously, and the brain can't keep up. The idea is to rewire its circuits, to supercharge its processes, so that it's more suited to the task - to turn it from a computer into a supercomputer, if you like." Spackman became interested in the brain functions of elite athletes after a chance meeting with racing legend Jackie Stewart 15 years ago. He now works with sportspeople in many fields, with the belief that the mind needs as intensive training as the body. 
(17 June 2007)

Black Beauty takes the bridge 
NZ A1 Grand Prix driver Jonny Reid has set a new record for the fastest crossing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Reid crossed the bridge seven times, reaching speeds of over 160km/h. Police traffic controllers had difficulty clocking his top speed due to the low height of NZ's A1GP car Black Beauty. "I absolutely thrived on it," said Reid of the drive. "It was a very unique experience which you don't come across every day." The record-breaking stunt was staged to promote the sixth leg of the A1GP, held in Taupo on January 21.
(6 January 2007)

And France makes three
Kiwi motor cross stars Ben Townley and Josh Coppins finished first and second respectively at the French Grand Prix in St Jean d’Angely. The win marked the third Grand Prix title of Townley’s rookie season. “At the moment I'm taking it race by race and it's going really well,” said a modest Townley at the finish line.
(26 June 2005)
    

Catch me if you can Merriman
NZer Stefan Merriman won the 250cc two-stroke class riding for Australia at the 2003 International Six Days' Enduro in Fortaleza, Brazil. "The three-time world champion was an intimidating force on his Honda CRE250 two-stroke machine, easily outpointing Frenchman Arnaud Demeester to win his intra-class battle and overall honours. 
(3 November 2003)
    

Life in the fast lane
Scott Dixon has been dubbed "the new man to beat" on the Indy Racing circuit after a series of remarkable performances behind the wheel. The 22-year-old followed up his Honda Indy 225 victory by blitzing the field at the Sun Trust Indy Challenge in Richmond, Vancouver, in what was the first wire-to-wire victory in Indy Racing League history.
(June 2003)
  

MX star takes second world title 
Auckland teen Katherine Prumm has won her second consecutive women's motocross world title at the series final in the Netherlands. The 19-year-old rider dominated the final day of the competition, beating Kawasaki team-mates Livia Lancelot (France) and Maria Franke to take her place on top of the podium. "I was very relaxed all week and the bike ran like clockwork," said Prumm. "It's fantastic to hear the New Zealand national anthem play when you're on the other side of the world."
(3 September 2007)

Black Beauty strikes at Brno 
Team NZ is top of the A1 Grand Prix table after scoring a double victory in Brno, Czech Republic. Black Beauty driver Jonny Reid won both the sprint and feature races, pushing NZ past South Africa in the competition rankings by one point. "We're very pleased as a team," said Reid. "I couldn't have asked more from the boys in the pits ... I can't wait for Malaysia. The car's good, I'm feeling good." Round three of the ten-round A1 Grand Prix world cup series kicks will take place at Malaysia's Sepang International Circuit on 25 November. 
(16 October 2007)

Back to back wins at 'The Glen'
Kiwi driver Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing has won the Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix for the second consecutive year. Dixon's win - his first for 2006 - moves him up two places in the overall standings, from fourth to second, on 170 points. "It was extremely tough because of the conditions," says Dixon. "It just started raining and it was hard to tell how hard to push it because you have 10-15 guys behind you that will push as hard." 'The Glen' is one of America's oldest and best known road courses. Dixon joins the ranks of NZ racing greats who have competed at the New York circuit, including Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme and Chris Amon. Wade Cunningham also competed at this year's event. 
(4 June 2006)

Revved up for '06 
2005 was an incredibly successful year for NZ motorsport, as TMC reports in its annual review. Two of the top three places in the world MX1 motocross championship were filled by New Zealanders, with Josh Coppins and Ben Townley finishing second and third respectively. Aucklander Wade Cunningham looks set to repeat fellow Kiwi Scott Dixon's Indy Racing League success after winning the Menards Infiniti Pro title. 15-year-old Brendon Hartley netted the biggest deal ever by a NZ driver in Europe (NZ$700,000) with his selection to the Red Bull junior racing team - widely acknowledged as a transitionary step to Formula One. Last but not least, Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap (pictured) founded a NZ team franchise to compete in the A1 World Cup of motorsport series, a new event involving 30 countries developed by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum al Maktoum, a member of the United Arab Emirates ruling family. "I've always dreamed about getting involved with an overseas series," said Giltrap in NZ's Weekend Herald. "[This is] the World Cup of motorsport. A nation-against-nation contest created to test their best young drivers." 
(2 January 2006)

“Star for the future”
20-year-old Ben Townley won his first motocross world title (and NZ’s second) with a double victory in the MX2 class at the Grand Prix of Ireland. “On the last lap of the first race, my mechanic, Craig Behl showed me a pit board that said, 'Your dreams have come true', and I just went cold,” said Townley in the NZ Herald. Townley’s NZ team-mate and best friend, Josh Coppins, came third in the MX1 class. Coppins is the reigning British champion.
(12 September 2004)
     

Like father, like son
NZer Steve Richards - the younger half of the "most successful father-son duo in Australian motor sport" - interviewed in the Age about his new three-year contract with Castrol Perkins. At 31, Steve has 25 years to equal father, Jim's, impressive winning record. He already has two Mount Panorama victories to his name, and was one of the team of four drivers who won last year's inaugural Bathurst 24-hour race, but is yet to win a touring car championship.
(12 August 2003)
  

Raving about Dixon in Detroit
Motown: Scott Dixon has won the first two races of the Dayton Indy Lights series and history indicates that he is well on his way to a championship in his first season with PacWest Racing. "I have always sort of wanted to get out there and just get right onto it," Dixon said.
(15 June 2000) 
              

Magnificent McLaren remembered in Monaco
For members of the McLaren Formula One racing team, the rest day at the Monaco grand prix was a time for quiet reflection, as they remembered the man who started it all, Kiwi speedster Bruce McLaren, exactly thirty years after his untimely death.
(3 June 2000)
 

Black Beauty tops rankings 
Team NZ has won its first A1 Grand Prix race on home soil in Taupo, and is now the overall series leader. Black Beauty driver Jonny Reid won the Sprint Race and finished fourth in the Feature, boosting NZ ahead of Switzerland and France on the points table. Reid, 27, described his Sprint win as the highlight of his career. "It's huge, absolutely huge. It's the greatest moment in my motorsport career," he said. The next leg in the A1GP series takes place at Eastern Creek, Australia, in two weeks. 
(20 January 2008)

Champion teen eyes MX crown
Hamish Dobbyn, a 15-year-old motocross rider from Warkworth, has won the 250cc four-stroke class at the Yamaha MX National Development Series in Australia. Next on his agenda is the World Junior Motocross Championships in Sevlievo, Bulgaria, starting August 12. "I've only just turned 15, so I'm one of the youngest in the race," he says. "I'll be up against guys who are knocking on the door for [Grand Prix] starts. I know it's going to be tough but I'm probably going to have to come up against these guys sometime anyway." The World Junior event is restricted to riders between 15 and 18 years of age, and attracts the best up-and-comers the sport has to offer. 
(16 July 2007)

WrightSpeed 
NZ sheep farmer turned e-car entrepreneur Ian Wright features in an AFR Magazine story on the rise of the electric car. Wright's prototype vehicle - the Wrightspeed X1 - is a stripped down Aerial Atom street racer capable of accelerating from 0-96 kmh in just over 3.5 seconds. More importantly, it boasts around 71km per litre from one charge of its lithium-ion batteries, which are similar to those used in laptops. "The definition of success for my company, five years from now, is 1,000 cars a year at $US120,000 each," says Wright. He is aiming at the high-end market, as opposed to fellow e-car pioneers Tesla Motors. "[Tesla] want to be Toyota," he says, "And I want to be Porsche." He has good reason: in 2005 the Wrightspeed X1 beat a Porsche Carrera GT by 20 car lengths at California's Sears Point Racetrack.
(December 2006)

Fast inductee 
Kiwi legend Burt Munro is one of nine new members selected for induction into Ohio's Motorcycle Hall of Fame this year. The Invercargill native set a land-speed record on his customised 1920 Indian Scout at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1962. His 50-year quest for the record was recently made into a film - The World's Fastest Indian - directed by Roger Donaldson and starring Sir Anthony Hopkins. "I can just hear my father quietly chuckling. He would be quite disbelieving I think," said Munro's daughter, Margaret Popenhagen, in Stuff. "He did what he tried to do and his dream came true in the finish and I'm sure that was all he would have really expected." 
(25 May 2006)

Go karting Cunningham
Auckland teenager Wade Cunningham added to NZ motorsport's current winning streak by claiming the world karting championship crown in Sarno, Italy. According to Kartsport NZ spokesman, Ross McKay, the 19-year-old's victory is "unprecedented in the history of NZ motorsport ... Virtually all the current crop of Formula One drivers raced karts but very few even qualified for the world championship, let alone won it." Says Cunningham, "Two years ago, I wouldn't have even dreamed of being at the world championships. Even a year ago, winning it would have been outside the realms of possibility. But here I am, it's happened and, well, all I can say is that it is still sinking in." Cunningham was signed to Italy's CRG team in 2001.
(27 October 2003)
   

Slight change
New Zealand superbike champ Aaron Slight picks up two extra wheels driving for Peugeot in the British Touring Car Championships.
(28 March 2001)

Remarkable Slight back on track after brain op
New Zealander Aaron Slight says he is ready to attempt one of motorcycling's most remarkable comebacks ... no one has ever had brain surgery then tried to race again at the top level three months later.
(13 May 2000)
             

Merriman buries them
Australian-based NZer, Stefan Merriman, earned his third motorcycle world title at the World Enduro Championship in Skovda, Sweden. It was his second world title win in the 250cc two-stroke class. Merriman now ranks as Australia's second most successful motorcycle racer of all time, behind Mick Doohan.
(15 June 2003)