With a name like Bentley, odds are that he was always going to enjoy being behind the wheel.
At the tender age of seven, Motueka’s Bentley Hovenden raced his junior dragster for the first time on Saturday, ticking off his licensing passes at the Motueka Drag Races which are held on the aerodrome’s runway. This means that he is now signed off and licensed to race.
He won’t be up against the big guns for quite some time – juniors race against juniors. Even then he will likely spend a long time beating his own times, as he is the first ever junior car dragster to belong to the Nelson Drag Racing Association (one previous member raced in the junior bike division).
One thing that Bentley can compete in against every other driver is the accolade for the fastest reaction time on the day. On his very first race, he logged a reaction time of 0.01 seconds – a phenomenal effort, says his mother Devon, and one that beat out every other competitor in every other race to earn him the top prize.
The junior division is for competitors aged seven to 18, and Bentley has had his dragster for a few months.
Bentley’s father Daniel has been involved in the drag club since he was 17, and has been the area steward for the last decade. Devon works on the time slip table, taking dial-ins and handing out time slips, so Bentley has been coming to the drags since he was tiny.
“The drags are one of Daniel’s passions and he was keen to follow in dad’s footsteps,” Devon says.
Daniel explains that the season runs from around late October to April, although last weekend’s meeting was the last of the current season. He says that there are about 50 juniors who race in New Zealand, and until very recently, two of these were South Island-based. The other junior has now moved on, which leaves Bentley holding the mantle as the only junior dragracer in the South Island.
If others join the division, Bentley will be able to race them no matter what their age, as the drivers “dial in” their own handicap and are racing for consistency. Slower cars leave the line first, and the faster car has to try to beat it.
Devon describes her son as “quite a calm, controlled little person” and says that they knew these attributes would serve him well in drag racing.
“He isn’t someone who we thought would just be out there for speed and the adrenaline. He’s out there to get better every time, to be controlled, to be confident and brave.”
Bentley tells his mum that his favourite part is coming up to the line and waiting for the lights to count down, and being in control of his speed.
