August 13 marked the very first Eurohaus event, held at the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park. An event purely for European vehicles held at a central North Island location, it was sure to be a big one.
With a serious lack of Euro-orientated track events being held here in New Zealand, there has most certainly been room for one to be created. Chris Howard — who runs the famed Zeroclass Drift Matsuri at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park — identified this, and set the wheels in motion for a kick-ass Euro-only event that would be entertaining both on and off the racetrack. Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park was radiating a Euro energy like never before on August 13. Yes, there were DJs, but the atmosphere at this Euro party was of the piston variety.
“The idea behind Eurohaus was simple. We noticed that the scene was growing significantly, and we wanted to do our thing to provide something different to the odd park-up,” Chris Howard explained. According to Chris, he’d like this to become a yearly Euro festival, and one that people look forward to.
In attendance were two badass Porsches you might have spotted on the cover of the May 2016 issue of NZ Performance Car. Nan Su of The Bling Company, and Anthony Wong, the former owner of Wong’s Kitchen, were out in full attack mode, however, things only got truly exciting when Royce Owen Mihaere of Team Cream got behind the wheel of Nan’s all-wheel drive Hekigyoku. As Royce is known for his sideways exploits, the all-wheel drive Porsche found itself defying the laws of physics around several hairpins.
Saying Chris knows a few drifters would be an understatement, and with his name behind the event there was destined to be some epic sideways Euro action. Jerym Soames brought along his purpose-built 1JZ-GTE-powered BMW E30, and Jahl brought along his E46 — both drivers getting the hang of things by the afternoon, entertaining spectators with some battles.
Track-wise, it was mostly BMWs in attendance: E92 M3s, 13B, and 1JZ-powered E30s, and even a 400hp 700Nm E92 attacked the somewhat moist tarmac.
From what Chris has told us, it sounds like there will be a second event on the cards, as this one proved to be a success for all involved. It looks like the Euro scene here in New Zealand is gaining momentum!
