Cromwell's oldest rev-head? 81-year-old former bus driver celebrating Lamboghini win
By reporter Sam Smith:
This might just be Cromwell’s oldest rev-head.
Ivan Fahey, a former volunteer bus driver at Highland Motorsport Park, will now be cruising round town in a 2014 Lamborghini Huracans following the win of a lifetime at the weekend.
The 81-year-old was at the park for the 10th anniversary celebrations where the car was being given away to mark the occassion.
The Lamborghini, which is priced at between $250,000 and $445,000, was used for hot laps at Highlands sister circuit Hampton Downs and can accelerate from 0 to 100km in as little as 2.9 seconds.
The two-seater luxury car was bought directly from Lamborghini by Highlands owner Tony Quinn and fitted with a roll cage for use in the road rally race Targa NZ.
Fahey says he is over the moon with his win and has a smile on his face that is permanent.
“I am not a winner of raffles, so this sort of thing doesn't happen to me, but this time it did,” he said.
Fahey is no stranger to motorsport, having been an avid watcher for over 60 years and a volunteer at the park where he claimed his victory.
“I drove their little bus ... I used to deliver spectators around the circuit to different vantage points and do town pickups and drop-offs,” Fahey says.
“I did that for about four, maybe five years. I have always been a supporter of Highlands because I see it as being a great facility for our town of Cromwell.”
Fahey owns two cars; a BMW 5 Series and a Suzuki Grand Vitara, but has no plans as yet to make his new acquisition his drive of choice.
“It will get used from time to time. I took it out yesterday. It was exciting. It was fantastic. It was very easy to drive. This car is unreal. The engineering means it is built to go fast.”
Fahey says his phone has been running hot since the win, with friends and family enjoying his win as well.
“They are pretty excited for the old man. A remarkable number of people have phoned me and sent me texts and messages.”
As for his new new-found fame? Fahey says he doesn’t think it is warranted: “I am just a country guy who's not used to all this attention”.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we're having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.6% Second half of November
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43.5% 1st December
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17.5% A week before Christmas
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33.3% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
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