Ian Wilkins

Ian Wilkins (Auckland) Ian Wilkins 2007

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I caught site of my first dragbike while working at Howick motorcycles about 14 years ago. It was Tony Astell’s Macintosh AA/ dragbike, and after seeing it I couldn’t wait to see it run, so a trip to Champion Dragway followed. I was amazed at the sights and sounds of Dragracing, and followed it avidly as a spectator from then on, taking in every detail I could. Seeing Tony’s bike on the track, along with a turbocharged Kawasaki ridden by Tim Hawk and a few others left me with no doubt that was where I wanted to be.

A plan to build one for myself was festering and the lead up to it continued with some rather heavily modified road bikes which formed bad habits and big fines, resulting in the surrender of my drivers licence more than once! It was pretty obvious to me I should pursue the speed on the track instead, so I concentrated on building the dragbike, with more than a little help from some good friends along the way. I had no idea how long it was going to take, let alone the cost, but the dream, like anything you pursue eventually came together. The first outing on the track was at the 2002 nationals with several other racers from more than just the motorcycle classes basically convincing the track officials to allow me to run licence runs. Thanks guys, you all know who you are and it was a really nice introduction to the Dragracing scene. The bike had fuel pressure and gearshift problems, but eventually got down the track well enough to earn me a licence. We went home and worked on the problems, returning at the final meeting to run my first 9 second run with Mike Drennan taking the win beside me. We learned a hell of a lot and spent the off season working hard on a new fuel system, some chassis changes and a much more pleasing carbon fibre body.

The bike was a huge improvement, and a trip to Tokoroa in December 2002 was the first time back on the track. after the redesign. The bike was much better to ride, with more horsepower and a lot of bugs ironed out. The season opener at Champion was the highlight. I was unbeaten until the final round, gaining second place and looking forward to the next meeting, and that’s when it went a bit sour. The first qualifying run the bike felt slow and I knew something was wrong. When I shut the throttle at the finish line the back wheel stopped turning. I was not letting go no matter what, and the remaining ride was pretty scary. We got back to the pits and it was soon confirmed to be major engine failure #2( The first was before the bike got near a track) Two weeks hard work saw the motor fixed for the next meeting and another lesson learned (albeit a damn expensive one) . Steady improvements were made throughout the season, but the bike was being held back by a bad traction problem. Another lesson learned!! Motor placement!!

The season netted 5^th place overall in the Champion point score series and a hunger for much more.

The chassis is undergoing serious modifications for 2003-2004 season and will be moving to AA/ dragbike with the addition of nitrous. It is an ongoing development and would not be possible without the crew and all others who have helped along the way.