Palmy North, 2: Team Superstock Car Racing

Thus encouraged by the prospects for amusement afforded by the Gypsy Fair, we proceeded on into the heart of the downtown...

Noticing oldie cars cruising about, generally in the direction of the
growing crowds and automotive noise

Motorcycle side-car racing? Might be unusual anywhere but NZ

Obviously we're on to something

Selling T-shirts, caps, and other goodies by the truckload

No, we've wandered into the annual New Zealand Superstock
Championship: basically, heavily souped-up and armored stock
cars that race around a dirt track, knocking each other off the
track, into the infield, off the wall, whatever...sort of a motorized
rugby but without a ball (read the linked article and be amazed);
"bang racing," which we'd encountered near Canterbury, England,
is sort of a poor-man's version, except it's more combat than a
race...anyhow, the gents to the left, above, are the races' "scrutineers,"
who examine each contestant vehicle for issues related to safety
(people get killed in these races...)(not surprisingly...)

The cars race in city teams, with some designated as racers, some as
chasers, some as blockers...

Here's a team lining up to be scrutineered

Note the subtle differences in powertrain, armor, etc.

I think this might be the racing car

Another team massing to be scrutineered

And another

This would be fun to drive, although not in countries where
drivers are armed and spoiling for a shoot-out

And you thought NASCAR was barbarian...