Oldest boy racer heads to Bonneville Salt Flats for record

July 15, 2008, 8:53 pm


New Zealand's oldest "boy racer", 71-year-old Tauranga man Bill Ward, is heading back to Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats.

Mr Ward is taking a custom-built roadster car to claim his own records on the United States flats where the "world's fastest Indian" -- Southlander Burt Munro -- broke the world land-speed record on a modified 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle.

Mr Ward has spent two years preparing for the 60th anniversary of record attempts at Bonneville and the official "Speed Week", which starts on August 18, the Bay of Plenty Times reported.

In 1979, he became the first New Zealander to build and race a car down a 4.82km timed course on the Bonneville Salt Flats.

He hit 275.7kmh in a 1930 Model A Roadster home-built by Kawerau crewman Casey Hill and returned two more times.

"Technical difficulties" with time-keeping stopped those being accepted as official records, he said.

"I have never officially beaten the records."

Now he was aiming high -- 378kmh -- and planned to do it in a heavily modified 1927 Model T powered by a 1948 Ford V8 engine.

The car has been custom-built in drag-racing fan Barb Sundgren's Whakamarama garage, near Tauranga.

Ms Sundgren and her partner, Colin Prouse helped build the car and supplied the engine.

More than 100 supporters plan to accompany Mr Ward to Utah.

Fund raising has included a nude calendar for which 55 women supporters stripped off, and Mr Ward has his own MySpace page and a blog for the project.