Motorsport: Millen's Leadfoot birthday hillclimb may be fixture

Rod Millen's hillclimb special Toyota Celica - 900 horsepower - during the Leadfoot Festival in Hahei. Photo / Alastair Ritchie

Motorsport legend Rod Millen celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday - by inviting his closest racing mates to punt high-powered racecars up his nice new driveway.

But this is no ordinary driveway. Over the past three years, US-based Millen has been hard at work creating a mile-long hill climb stage that runs into his Hahei property.

Usually the only sounds you hear in this very green part of the world are mungbeans growing and the occasional drum circle, depending on the moon phase. In stark contrast, yesterday's soundtrack was petrolhead heaven, with 24 vehicles ranging from old Cooper and Stanguellini single seaters and even a rally Skoda, through to Rod's own fire-breathing Toyota Celica.

That car held the record at Colorado's world famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for a staggering 12 years. Millen also trotted out his hugely powerful Toyota Tundra V8 stadium truck, and the hills were alive with the sound of horsepower.

This birthday bash - dubbed the Leadfoot Festival - was far beyond your normal Kiwi bloke's 60th and will likely continue as an invite-only event. The gathering was partly modelled on the British Goodwood Festival of Speed - which Millen has attended on numerous occasions in race machines including the Celica - and guests were asked to dress for the 50s and 60s.

"It's not a racing event," explained Millen after putting his mates in their place and setting the fastest time of the day on the challenging course. "It's really an exhibition of cool old cars and cool old folks. I think everyone enjoyed themselves - the drivers certainly did.

"This was really a test of how an event of this type could work. Now we have to take stock of it, figure out what worked and what we would have to do to take it to the next level. It was something that we've talked about doing for quite a while now, just a great opportunity to get some of these guys and their vehicles together and have a good time racing in a great place like this. It has taken a lot of time and effort to get to this stage, but it's been worth it. It's definitely something a bit different for Hahei."

The guest list included drivers and cars from around New Zealand and the world, including Rod's two sons Ryan and Rhys, who not only holds the title of world drifting champ, but has been a Hollywood stunt driver on blockbusters like the Dukes of Hazzard movie and Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

The friendly rivalry couldn't have been more obvious when father and son Rhys both held up one finger for 'number one' when posing for a fan photo.

The driveway borrows much from Pikes Peak, including the treacherous "Ws", a series of switchbacks that require a perfect blend of throttle, steering and, if you want to be quick, immense testicular fortitude. The 'track' starts off on a quick flat section from near the letterbox, before heading up through the forested property via a series of quick corners, the odd hairpin, and even a bridge.

Aging rally machines like Ford Escorts and Mazda RX7s, mixed with some true classics including Race to the Sky director Grant Aitken's Ford GT40, made the Leadfoot Festival feel like a true blast from the past, with sideways action aplenty.

And as far as birthday bashes go, Millen happily admitted that it was the "best ever".