Every year the Leadfoot Festival delivers above expectations in terms of the international drivers competing and the brilliantly, star-studded line-up for 2017 is no exception.
Joining the record high number of 130 competitors at the Waitangi weekend event in Hahei, Coromandel, are major motorsport icons from all around the world.
In a major coup for the organisers, two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr – also nicknamed Little Al, Al Junior, or simply Junior – has signed up to drive at the February 4 and 5 Leadfoot Festival. Hailing from the United States, Unser has a whole list of titles to his name, including the Can-Am Championship (1982), IROC-International Race of Champions (1986 and 1988) and the CART Indy Car World Series (1990 and 1994). In 2009, he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Southwards Museum is gracing Al Jr. with a 1915 Stutz. That same year, the Stutz qualified fastest and place 3rd in the Indy 500.
Also from the United States, professional super-star driver Tanner Foust is returning to the Leadfoot Festival, following his popular appearance there last year. The runner-up in this year’s Global Rallycross Championship, he is the ultimate in competitive dexterity and has won four X Games gold medals and two Formula Drift championships. When he isn’t racing, Foust is a stunt driver for block-buster films and was also a co-host of the very popular Top Gear USA.
Scottish-born rally legend Alister McRae will be back for another crack at Rod Millen’s immaculately-prepared mile-long driveway, after coming tantalisingly close to snatching victory from the Millen clan last year. Driving the famous 1998 Vantage Motorsport Subaru in his debut at the event, he ended up second to first-time Leadfoot Festival winner Rhys Millen. This year, armed with prior knowledge of the Hahei hill climb’s twists and turns, McRae will be hunting down a win and a record-breaking run for the ex-Possum Bourne World Rally Championship WRX STi, to help celebrate the 25 years of WRX in New Zealand.
Over in the open-wheeler camp and also looking to break the record time of the low 48 seconds set by Rod Millen in 2016, is the ferociously-fast Pikes Peak International Hill Climb-winning 2006 Dallenbach Special. Driven by its owner and namesake American racer Paul Dallenbach, who is an eight-time Pikes Peak victor, the car weighs only 840kgs but its small block Chevy V8 pumps out a whopping 900hp.
Pikes Peak is in David Donner’s hometown of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and he is a six-time winner of this Race to the Clouds event. Three of those wins were in the car he is bringing to New Zealand, his 2005 Donner/Dykstra Pikes Peak Special. It is one of the few cars to win Pikes Peak on gravel and asphalt. Powered by an all-aluminium Chevrolet racing V8, it boasts more than 786Nm of torque. Large tunnels underneath the car help create a vacuum at high speed that literally sucks it to the ground, enabling Donner to carry much faster speeds through turns without creating aerodynamic drag.
While the high performance cars are exhilarating for the crowd, the Leadfoot Festival also attracts some exceptional period vehicles. The 1959 Old Yeller II Buick Special is one such car and it has a special story. Built in 1959 at the legendary Hollywood Motors by Max and Ina Balchowsky, this car known fondly as the ‘Junkyard Dog’, has been racing almost continuously since 1959, with only a short break of four years.
It was driven by top drivers, including Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in the 1960s and has won major Sports Car races as well as breaking track records along the way. Now owned by Ernie Nagamatsu, it was a classic underdog race car that challenged all the very best factory teams from Europe in its day.
New Zealand produces its fair share of talented drivers, and the national competitor announcements will be made at the end of November. Keep an eye on the Leadfoot Festival Facebook page and sign up for our e-news here: bit.ly/leadfootnewsv
The Leadfoot Festival is a unique weekend bringing together a mix of classic cars, vintage motorcycles and motorsport drivers. The 150 acre, ocean-front and farm estate in Hahei, New Zealand, features a purpose-built, mile-long driveway that winds through the property designed to be the perfect hill climb. Multiple spectator areas mean there are plenty of places to spread a picnic blanket, sit down, and enjoy all the racing action.
Rod Millen personally hand selects championship racers from around the world to receive the coveted invitation to participate in the Leadfoot Festival.
The selection of racers at Leadfoot Ranch will include a spectacular array of the world’s finest competition cars and motorcycles. From classic formula and road race cars to off-road machines and motorcycles, the Leadfoot Festival attracts competitors and race vehicles reminiscent of many eras in an enthusiastic display of speed, style, sound, smell and colour. A collection of static celebrated vintage cars and bikes will line areas of the paddocks to complete the weekend.
Tickets are sold to this prestigious event where guests will be given one of a kind experiences, including a free access pit area open to the public. Part of the Leadfoot Festival’s appeal is being able to wander through and chat to the drivers, watch the mechanics work their magic and admire the cars and motorbikes, up close, over the weekend.
The Leadfoot Festival is designed for men, women and children. Guests dress in period style clothing to step back in time making the Leadfoot Festival an incredible family experience and a true celebration of motorsports and all things automotive.
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