Amberley octogenarian John Cottier is New Zealand’s oldest circuit racer.
Yesterday he strutted his stuff at the Timaru International Motor Raceway.
The 80-year-old Cottier took up motorsport only eight years ago after looking for something to do.
Cottier raced in his Mitsubishi as part of the South Island 2K Cup races, a new class of low-cost racing. His best result yesterday was 21st in the 37-strong field.
He was, however, far from happy.
“I was 30 to 40kmh down on the others’ top speed. I’ll have to find out where that speed went.”
Cottier otherwise enjoyed the day.
His response when asked how he got into motor racing at 72 was simple. “It gets me out of house.”
Cottier admits his wife Margaret thinks he is a bit mad.
“We all need a hobby.”
Cottier’s first venture into motor sport was with his BMW 323, a car he used in club speed events until he discovered Toyota Starlets.
His first Starlet carried the number 34, reflecting the year he was born, and he has kept with that.
Cottier’s career, however hasn’t been without incident.
He admits he has written off a couple of Starlets and has also broken his thumb. Other competitors, he said, sometimes have to double check when he states his age, but he doesn’t mind and has no intention of giving the sport away.
A retired farmer, Cottier admitted he wasn’t very mechanical, so relies on others.
“I am a horse man. We worked the cattle with horses, so I don’t know much about cars.”
That didn’t stop him buying a few Chryslers, his early choice of car.
He started with an AP5 Valiant, followed by a Ranger then a Pacer. His final car of this marque was a Canadian-built Windsor powered by a 5.2-litre V8.
