Hampton Downs Race Track, Auckland New Zealand

Steve's Tesla Model S has been invited to go on display at a local race track as part of the "Mother's Car Polish Show and Shine" vehicle display area.  #LeadingTheCharge participates in as many of these events as possible to spread the word about electric vehicles.

Nick and I make our way to the track and talk our way in without having to pay the $20 entrance fee. Score!

We attend the driver's meeting to prepare for giving test rides but we don't have the required paperwork for the car, unfortunately no follow through from our contact. All we can do is stand next to the car all day. We walk around and I drink hot chocolate to stay warm, it's blustery and cold, with waves of blue sky and showers rolling through.

The track is doing DYM - Drive Your Mate. People can take any car on the track but they have to stay under 100kph, and cannot drift or pass in the corners, and most of the cars follow the rules. Lots of hopped up street cars plus many dedicated racing cars, mostly Kiwi and Aussie models. Other times the track is open for drifting, serious cars with lots of power at full drift through the corners, tires billowing smoke.

Also a dedicated skid pad where you could drift your car for about 2 minutes. I saw one guy spin his car and end up in a large puddle at the side of the track, had to be pulled out by a Hummer. Another track-prepped car was trailered back, it apparently hit a wall head on, the front was pushed in and flat and both airbags fired, the driver did not look happy!

We spoke with about 20 people through the day, showed them the car, let them sit in it and play with the 17" touchscreen. Everyone who stopped was very positive about Tesla and electric cars in general and we described the Leading The Charge trust and Steve's upcoming charging network. Around 3PM we decide to give up and go home because of the freezing weather, lack of test rides and lack of interest by the mostly petrol-head attendees, no offense...