By BOB PEARCE
Councils, businesses and residents complain about young people drag-racing in city streets.
Now Champion Dragway at Meremere is going to do something about the problem.
On Friday night, the dragway, just off State Highway One, will be open from 4.30 pm for the first of 10 summer night Speed Drag War events.
"There is a real need to open the dragway to the public to allow drag-racing to be held in a safe and controlled environment," manager Ray Peterson said.
"We believe we are giving a strong road safety message by holding these meetings to encourage young people with a need for speed to participate on a real race track where there is no restraint on how fast they can go."
Any car with registration and a warrant of fitness is eligible. Drivers must have a current licence.
The cars will be given a safety scrutineering before they are allowed to compete. The track will be open for competition from 5.30 pm, with a $20 charge for competitors and $5 for spectators.
The dragway is installing lighting and intends to run the events every two weeks through the summer.
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Possum Bourne will be competing against a big contingent of factory cars when the Rally of Australia begins in Perth tomorrow night.
The Subaru driver has been seeded 18th for the world championship event behind 17 works-supported crews.
Four drivers, Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot), Richard Burns (Subaru), Carlos Sainz (Ford) and Colin McRae (Ford) are within six points of one another at the top of the drivers' championship, so several teams have entered extra cars to try to deprive their rivals of points.
Bourne will be chasing four factory Subarus, three Peugeots, three Fords, three Hyundais, two Mitsubishis and two Seats.
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Aucklander Matthew Halliday, who is chasing a drive in Indy Lights next season, made an impressive showing in a test for a privateer team in Nevada.
Kenny Smith, Scott Dixon's racing manager, accompanied Halliday, who came to terms quickly with the car and set some very competitive times.
Smith hopes to arrange more tests with some of the better-known teams, including PacWest, for whom Dixon won the championship this year.
"I've no doubt Matt would acquit himself well," Smith said. "All he needs is the chance and I'm talking to some people who can help."
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MotorSport New Zealand is putting the pressure on promoters IMG to sign a formal contract for the rescheduled Australian V8 Supercar round at Pukekohe from next November 9 to 11.
The meeting is in the calendar announced by Avesco, the Supercars association, but MotorSport president Steven Kennedy wants a commercial contract in place.
The New Zealand controlling body shifted the dates of its own events around to accommodate the original February fixture for the Supercars and this time wants finality by December 1.
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There was a sting in the tail for the two drivers who fought out the finish of the LK500 endurance race on Sunday.
Winner Ashley Stichbury and runner-up Andrew Fawcet were both fined $500 for not returning their cars to parc ferme immediately after the chequered flag.
Incidentally, Stichbury's statement after the race that he had been driving "10 tenths" to the finish is borne out by the official lap times. He recorded his team's fastest lap of 66.58s on the 174th of 195 laps.
The fastest race lap was 65.10s, recorded by Paul Radisich in the PSM Falcon on his 128th lap. The fastest lap by a two-litre car was 67.18s by Team Kiwi's Nissan Primera driven by Jason Richards and Angus Fogg.
Stichbury and Fawcet will face off again later in the summer in the New Zealand Tranzam championship. Stichbury will drive a Camaro for the Petch team, while Fawcet will have a new Jaguar-bodied car with a Ford engine.
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Craig Lowndes, the poster boy for Holden in the Australian V8 Supercar championship, has confirmed that he will leave the Holden Racing Team at the end of the season.
Lowndes, who won a Bathurst 1000 for the team with Kiwi Greg Murphy in 1996, and later dominated the championship, says he wants to have more freedom to promote his career.
He will drive at Bathurst next week with HRT team-mate Mark Skaife, who needs only the points from a 17th-place finish to win this year's championship.
Lowndes is expected to join a Ford Supercar team next season, though as late as last year he was contemplating a stab at single-seater racing in the United States.
Fellow Aussie Jason Bright, who has been competing against Scott Dixon in Indy Lights, will make the switch back to V8s for Bathurst.
He will partner Paul Radisich in one of the Johnson team Ford Falcons.
Motorsport: Dragway opening for have-a-go sessions
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