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News 2nd May 2010 - 2nd June 2008

2nd May 2010 - Funny Car Engine Photos

Photos of the Funny Car Engine Which went in a big explosion. The Cam was Broken and shot out the front of the Engine stripping all the Bolt threads from the Block. Rods and Lifters were Broken and the Block will be thrown away for scrap a new one acquired along with a few other bits and Bobs and should be all go for next Season.




A few You Tube Video Links of Interest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id8lVW3cIfs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPlDzhMldos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0RSvYq1iL0

23rd March 2010 - Meremere Nationals

AT the Meremere Nationals n the Weekend the Rivers/Rowan Race Team traveled up with the high hopes of taking out the C Modified National Title with Nicole Rivers running the Dragster. It came down to a clash with series Leader Andy Chapman in the Semi Finals. A must win for Both competitors and it was the reaction time on the tree that decide the Semi with Andy Chapman getting off the line a fraction faster than Nicole and winning the Semi and thus the National Title.

Grant Rivers had the Funny car tuned up and with the Clutch set up correctly and the Data Logger doing providing Information it was looking like a good day. Grants First run was just a 3/4 pass and doing a 160mph Pass.
Second time out and with things running well it was a full pass attempt that ended with a major Explosion of Flame and Oil from the Engine as a rod came out the side and the Cam was pushed clean out the front the Block. The Data logger suggested that this was a low 6 second pass. The Engine will be stripped down on the weekend and we will post a few Photos for all to see next week.

21st February 2010 - Central Nationals


Burnout and a broken lifter in the Engine.


Ardian Rivers taking out First place in the National points Andy Chapman in their Quarter Final.

Bit of mixed results for the team Rowan Rivers Racing at Central Nationals in Masterton this weekend.
Dean Scott and Grant Rivers both only got in two runs with The Funny Car having Clutch set up issues and just spinning the tyre's in the runs. A broken Lenco gearbox was a worry but after pulling it to bits it was simply a circlip that had popped off, however after putting it back in the car when the team went to check the tappets a couple of loose rods were found. After pulling off the blower and manifold a seized lifter and bits of metal were found which meant the Engine will need to be stripped at the shop but there shouldn't be any major damage and the car will be prepped for the Nationals at Meremere in late March.

Dallas Rowan made it into the Semis for Junior Dragsters before getting knocked out.

Adrian Rivers was running the Dragster this round and still the engine is sluggish off the line and the car is a whole second slower than it should be. Adrian did enough to make the Final though where he Red lit off the tree and also ran faster than his nominated time. The team though are just behind Andy Chapman in points for the championship


Dean Scott had an oil leak probably from the Main Bearing and it wasn't worth risk of further damage to continue
Heaps of Pictures in my Gallery Link below on Monday evening

10th January 2010 - Masterton Drags


At Speed with Adrian at the Wheel.


A fun Weekend for the Rivers Rowan Drag Team at the Masterton Motorplex over the weekend with Adrian and Nicole sharing alternate drives in the Dragster to try and iron out a few issues and find why the car is not performing. Possibly an electric gremlin or tired Heads. Either way the car just got slower with every run and is down 11mph on previous visits to Masterton only managing a top speed of 147mph this weekend. Grant will work on the Motor and hopefully the car should be ready for the trip South to Ruapuna on January 30th. The Dragster is currently 30points in front on the series championship. Despite the problems the Dragster still came 3rd overall in the 9 car field at Masterton.


Dallas Rowan is now running the Methanol Engine in the Junior Dragster and is improving quite quickly he was also knocked out in the semi finals at Masterton.
Heaps of Pictures in my Gallery Link below

27th December - Round 1 Jet Sprint Series


Pat Dillon Gets it all wrong in a Big way in the Top 16 Shootout.


In the Top 4 Shootout Duncan Wilson spun and filled the Boat with water but still finished quick enough for 3rd overall.

Plenty of Action on the Shelterview Track Today but only 6 Superboats making the effort to Race with Peter Chaughey and Chris Munro not making the trip up from the South.
Richard Burt took the win from Wanganui's Lieghton Minnell with Duncan Wilson 3rd.
Click here for for list of Results and times in all classes.
Heaps of Pictures in my Gallery Link below

13th December - River Rat IV


Run 3, Three Quarter Pass.

River Rat IV was finally Finished on Saturday Morning and headed up to the Fram Autolite Dragway at Meremere. The Car was going to do 4 runs with the first run a Launch only then a Half Pass, then a Three Quarter run followed up by Full Pass if things were going well.
Run one and the Team were lined up to do a Launch pass. The car performed very well and only a few adjustments were made to the car as the Team worked hard to go over everything tightening bolts and looking for any problems with the car. Round 2 a half pass and the car had a bit of a clutch problem which meant Grant rolled through the lights but launched anyway as Times and speeds were not an issue in the tests.
While preparing for Launch 3 a three quarter pass the Clutch was adjusted and tappets reset. Another spectacular Burnout and then the Car launched down the track and the chutes were deployed for the first time and worked very well. after the run a broken Lifter was discovered and while a new one could have been put on it was decided to pack up and head home. There were many small things that the team will look at changing before hopefully running the car at Taupo on January 5th along side the Dragster of Nicole and Adrian Rivers.
Hopefully we will have some Video Clips to post during the Week.


Dave, Dean, Adrian & Grant fire up the car for the first time at a Track.


Saturday Morning at the Workshop doing the Final work before loading up.

29th November - Round 2 of the National Drag Series

Nicole Rivers was driving the Dragster at Meremere, Auckland this past weekend and the team went to Auckland leading the points and hoping for a good run. It was t be however a very disappointing round with the car not wanting to fire in time for the first qualifying run. Next the rains came and the rest of qualifying was washed out so the team missed out on qualifying points. On Sunday it was a case of set a dial in time and go into 1st round of the 10 car Fields hope for the best. A slow reaction time and run saw Nicole miss out by 3.10th's of a second and the team was knocked out with only 10 points for showing up to the meeting. These points may prove vital though in the competition which resumes in Taupo next month.

29th November - 2nd Round World Jetsprint Champs

Duncan Wilson failed to fire in the second round of the World Champs with a number of errors costing him valuable time. Pat Dillon had to replace a bearing in the engine during the week and was quite quick during the 2nd round a big improvement from round one.
But no one could hold a torch to New Zealand's Peter Chaughey who cleaned up the competition to become 2009 World Superboat Champion.
2009 UIM World Jetsprint Championships Championship points (after two rounds of two)
SBS Speedweek Unlimited Superboats
1. Peter Caughey (NZ) – 80 points
2. Daryl Hutton (NZ) – 77
3. Nathan Pretty (VIC) – 76
4. Dean Finch (NSW) – 73
5. Mick Carroll (SA) – 70
6. Leighton Minnell(NZ) – 67
7. Duncan Wilson (NZ) – 66
8. Jamie Welch (WA) – 65
9. Tony Giustozzi (SA) – 64
10. Pat Dillon (NZ) – 61
11. Andrew Page (NSW) – 60
12. Phonsy Mullan(VIC) – 57
13. Louise Dixon (VIC) – 56
14. Peter Freckleton(VIC) – 55
15. Adam Raverty (VIC) – 53
16. Jody Ely (VIC) – 52
17. Richard Burt (NZ) – 51
18. Cheryl Welch (WA) – 50
19. Paul Burgess (ACT) - 46


QTR Tyre Professionals International Group A
1. Slade Stanley (NSW) – 80 points
2. Reg Smith (NZ) – 75
2. Brooke Dixon (VIC) – 75
2. Darek Sygidus (VIC) – 75
5. Ted Sygidus (VIC) – 74
6. Shaun Dixon (VIC) – 69
7. Jake Garlick (QLD) – 68
8. Chris Farr (WA) – 64
9. Greg Mercier (VIC) – 62
9. Bevin Muir (NZ) – 62
11. Rohan Smith (VIC) – 58
11. Baden Gray (NZ) - 58
11. Andrew Guthrie (NZ) – 58
14. Daniel Walton (SA) – 55
15. Robert Colman (VIC) – 54
16. Chris Bollins (QLD) – 49
16. Mark Garlick (QLD) – 49
16. Tremayne Jukes (VIC) – 49
19. Rodney Krause (NSW) – 44
20. Damian O’Leary (SA) – 42
21. Brooke Lucas (QLD) – 39
22. Mick Manini (VIC) – 38
23. Chris Kent (WA) – 37
24. Greg Harriman (QLD) – 34
25. Kevin Laugesen (NSW) – 32
26. Phil Wheelans (NZ) – 30
27. Blair Gibbard (NZ) – 27
28. Alan Carr (WA) – 25
29. Shane Loughnan (VIC) – 24
30. Darryl Squires (QLD) – 22
30. Kieran Krause (NSW) - 22

23rd November - 1st Round Would Jetsprint Champs

Duncan Wilson was a disappointing 5th after round 1 of the Superboat Class after making a navigational Error in the top 8 shootout. Pat Dillon had some teething troubles but looked very fast at times.

SBSSpeedweek Unlimited Superboat
(points after one round of two)
1.Peter Caughey (NZ) – 40
2.Nathan Pretty (VIC) – 39
3.Daryl Hutton (NZ) – 38
4.Mick Carroll (SA) – 37
5.Duncan Wilson (NZ) – 36
6.Tony Giustozzi (SA) – 35
7.Dean Finch (NSW) – 34
8.Jamie Welch (WA) – 33
9.Andrew Page (NSW) – 32
10.Leighton Minnell (NZ) – 31
11.Peter Freckleton (NSW) – 30
12.Richard Burt (NZ) – 29
13.Jody Ely (VIC) – 28
14.Pat Dillon (NZ) – 27
15.Adam Raverty (VIC) – 26
16.Louise Dixon (VIC) – 25
17.Cheryl Welch (WA) - 24
18.Paul Burgess (ACT) – 23
19.Phonsy Mullan (VIC) - 22

30th October - Recent News

Labour Weekend saw a very busy Rivers Family Race weekend with the Adrian and Nicole running the Dragster in Christchurch an 8.62 at 153mph saw the car qualify 2nd and the team went all the way through to win the final. They now hold the Lead in the Series Championship and are looking forward to round 2 at Meremere in a few weeks time.

Grant and Adrian then took part in the NZ Targa. The Mustang performed faultlessly and impressed the crowds with Burnouts at the start of each stage. The Team finished third in class overall and had a very enjoyable Targa

12th October - World Jetsprints 2009


Pat Dillon & Steve Edmonds in "The Hulk"


Duncan Wilson & Jamie Lupton in "Lethal Injection"

Grant Rivers has been busy preparing the High Performance engines in The Hulk and Lethal Injection for next months World Jetsprint Championships to be Held in Australia over the last two weekends of November. Both Boats have done Tests at the Shelterview Track in Wanganui and performed with out Incident. Both Crews are looking forward to representing New Zealand in the World Championships.

15th March - Masterton Drags


Nicole warms the Tyre's in a Run on Saturday the cool conditions saw her run 8.53 at 159.75mph to be Fastest qualifier in her Class. The Car ran very consistent all day and a bye in the first round late on Saturday night to advance to the quarter Finals for Sunday Morning. On Sunday a quick Test run and a Dial in time of 8.60 was set which would see Nicole chasing all the cars she was up against and she picked them off one by one to Claim her first Title in the Cars last Run of the Year.





9 Cars from the Wanganui Road Rodders Club were at Masterton with the club taking home 3 Titles Nicole Rivers won the C3 Modified Title
Dallas Rowan won the Junior Dragster Title in an all Wanganui Affair.
Ben Morris won the Super Sedan Title.


The end of the Drag Racing Season, Ardian and Nicole both improved and the Dragster proved to be very reliable and Consistent. Nicole Winning Today and Adrian making the Final at Meremere Two weeks ago but darkness set in and Adrian was unable to run in the Final.

Check out my Gallery Page Link below for more Pictures of the Masterton Drags added to during the Week



9th March - Wanganui Drags


Grant gave the crowd a couple of demonstration runs in the Dragster.
Nicole will be driving it at Masterton this Weekend in the last run of the Year.


Very good crowd turned out on a day that started with Light rain and caused a brief stoppage during the Morning. About 80 Cars were out to have a go at the 23rd Annual Street Drags. Good racing in all classes.



Battle of the Staff with Blair in his Track Racing Ford Escort and Dean in the Powerful Holden Drag Ute. It was extremely close over the first foot.

And at the End of the 1/8th Mile the Photo Finish says Dean won by about a 13 cones.

Check out my Gallery Page Link below for more Pictures of the Wanganui Drags



2nd January - Taupo Drags


Nicole and Grant warm up the 427ci Dragster in the pits and then on the right Nicole gets some heat in the tyre's prior to her first run of the day


Nicole Rivers ran the Dragster today at Taupo in what was a very trying day with the weather playing havoc with persistent drizzle in the morning to hot muggy windy conditions in the afternoon.
On top of the weather there was a computer failure in the timing system and the commentary was down as well so the small crowd had no idea what was going on at all. In the end they ran out of time and failed to finish the event, results are unknown. Nicole's first run in the car was a steady 9.6 on a slippery track.

Grant observes up close as Nicole Launches from the line in her second run for a 9.1, 144mph which qualified her third fastest in the 13 car modified field


Nicole was eliminated in the first round of qualifying partially due to the strong cross wind 3/4 the way in as the car left the shelter of the pit wall momentum was lost as the car veered to the right a fraction due to wind shear. It would have been a tall ask to beat the opponent though who had a dial in time of 10.30 and ran a 10.31.

The Dragsters next outing will be at Masterton this time with Adrian back at the Wheel on January 30th/ February 1st.


Check out my Gallery Page Link below for more Pictures of the Taupo Drags to be added during the week.



28th December - Xmas Drag Wars



Nicole Rivers ran the Mustang for the first time during the weekend and improved her times and speed constantly the highlight was the Elimination Round two win when she did a Perfect 0.000 Reaction time on the lights. Nicole was eliminated in the quarter final when she went too quick and bettered her dial In time of 12,70 by running a 12.65. She wasn't at all disappointed though as the aim was to go faster.
Grant Rivers ran the car as well with a 12.40 time the fastest time the Targa set up car has ever done, well that was until Adrian Rivers jumped in at the end of the day and ran a 12.39


Grant Rivers tested the Small Block Ford Dragster of Scott Miller. Grant Builds the engine and drove the car for the first time and did a respectable 7.99
The Blues Brothers Dragster was run by Adrian Rivers on the Saturday ding some good Times and Speeds until a Rocker broke causing minor damage to the Head.


Check out my Gallery Page Link below for more Pictures of the XMAS DRAG WARS to be added during the week.



30th November - EC Griffith Cup


Warwick Lupton was flying at the Cup Meeting


Grant Rivers and Warwick Lupton with the EC Griffith's Cup

Warwick thanks Grant after the Win
  1. Warwick Lupton yesterday won the EC Griffith's Cup in Annihilator GP007
    The cup is the most valued Trophy to win in Powerboat Racing in Australasia and was a very welcome Win. The Races took place in Yarrawonga, Australia

    Grant Rivers Race Engines have been powering the Kiwi Annihilator Racing Boats for a number of years and yesterday all 5 Engines ran absolutely Faultlessly to take the Team boats to 1st and 2nd Places in the Cup. Today the boats will be running again in a couple of Races on the lake.


Check out my Gallery Page Link below for more Pictures of the EC Griffith Cup



2nd June - Targa Rotorua


Grant Rivers and Ross Francis had an early exit from Targa Rotorua with water in the oil after Stage 2 resulting in pulling the Car out of the Event. Its a Disappointing result but the Team will return as they have yet to finish this event.
On Saturday Morning the roads were very wet and slippery and visibility was reduced with a very thick Fog


Peter Cullen took the Pantera to a 7th place finish in the Classic Class

Check out my Gallery Page Link below for more Pictures of the Targa. I will upload these on Monday Night

Older Archive News Page 1: 17th February 2008 - June 12th 2006
Older Archive News Page 2: May 2nd 2010 - June 2nd 2008