Father, son revving up V8 power

Invercargill’s Boyd Wilson is such a big fan of NZV8s he bought a second one last year, so his son could race alongside him.

Wilson, ‘‘in my early 50s’’, managing director of a civil engineer company, and his son Harry, 21, an apprentice mechanic with Windsor Motors, will contest the Classic SpeedFest 2023 at Teretonga Park next month.

The event celebrates classic and historic vehicles from some of the great eras of motor racing.

Wilson became hooked on NZV8s during the golden days of the NZV8 championships which hit a peak 12 years ago until another class, V8 SuperTourers, was created. The last full NZV8s Championship was held in 2018/2019.

At their zenith big crowds turned out at Teretonga Park and around New Zealand to watch grunty Commodores and Falcons.

‘‘I’ve always loved them. I own some classic road going V8s and those NZV8s Championships were a fantastic spectacle,’’ Boyd Wilson said.

‘‘The V8s had a real following and now there are lots of them being rolled out of sheds around the country. They are so cool at full noise.’’

In 2016, he bought a Ford Falcon that had been raced by Dale Lambert. In 2018, he contested the South Island Endurance Series in the car and won the A1 Auto Services 1 Hour race with Jordan Michels.

Last year He bought his second V8 car to race.

‘‘I was looking for something else when Kayne Scott’s Holden Commodore came up. I was actually inspired by Roy MacDonald who brought the ex-Paul Radisich Falcon to Teretonga Park early last year.

‘‘I thought it was so cool.’’ Having bought another car from the NZV8 series he admired, his son Harry, who had been racing Formula Ford, winning Class 3 of the South Island Championship in 2019/2020, benefited.

In December, Harry raced the Falcon in a club saloons event while his father got behind the wheel of the Holden Commodore.

‘‘It is pretty cool to race my son. I am pleasantly surprised keeping him honest, it is good to be competitive. Harry was third, and I was fourth in the class at the December meeting.’’ ‘‘Primarily Harry and I race for fun. ‘‘We enjoy the social side rather than cut-throat racing and this was a great opportunity to race two cars in the same class.’’

Wilson said the cars were different. ‘‘The Holden is a little faster in a straight line and the Falcon is better handling.

‘‘Both are quite forgiving and easy to learn to drive. The first time I went out on track in the Commodore I thought, what am I doing here!’’

The Wilsons will race the club saloons class at the Classic SpeedFest 2023, February 17-19.