Burnout Pads
Please note this is a work in progress!
The Home of RAPANATS
Masterton Motorplex is home to one of New Zealand’s best purpose-built burnout pads.
Located in the Wairarapa, the Motorplex is best known for its quarter-mile drag strip, but its dedicated burnout facility has become an important part of New Zealand’s burnout scene.
Quick Info
Location: Masterton, Wairarapa
Venue: Masterton Motorplex
Address: 21 Manaia Road, Solway, Masterton
Facility Type: Permanent Burnout Pad
Pad Size: Approx. 40m x 40m
Status: Active
Dedicated Burnout Area: Yes
Major Events: Rapanats, Smokefest & Bob's Burnouts
About the Burnout Pad
The Masterton burnout pad is a purpose-built facility measuring approximately 40 metres by 40 metres.
The pad is surrounded by a concrete wall approximately one metre high, with additional wire fencing above the wall helping separate spectators from the competition area.
The facility was developed to provide burnout competitors with a dedicated place to compete and to encourage people to take burnouts away from public roads and into a controlled motorsport environment.
Masterton has since become one of the best-known burnout venues in New Zealand, hosting events including Rapanats, Smokefest and Bob's Burnouts.
About the Venue
Masterton Motorplex is an established drag racing facility located in Solway, Masterton.
Alongside the burnout pad, the venue features a quarter-mile drag strip, large pit areas and dedicated spectator facilities.
The Motorplex hosts everything from grassroots motorsport through to major national drag racing meetings and burnout competitions, attracting competitors and spectators from throughout New Zealand.
Its purpose-built burnout pad and established motorsport infrastructure have helped make Masterton an important home for New Zealand's legal burnout scene.
rapanats burnout competitionHome to the Chrome Pro Burnout COmpetition
NAPA Auto Parts Dragway at Meremere is home to one of New Zealand’s best-known dedicated burnout pads.
Located between Auckland and Hamilton, the venue is primarily known for drag racing but has also become an important home for burnout competitions and other forms of motorsport.
Quick Info
Location: Meremere, Waikato
Venue: NAPA Auto Parts Dragway
Address: Dragway Road, Meremere
Facility Type: Permanent Burnout Pad
Status: Active
Dedicated Burnout Area: Yes
Separate from Drag Strip: Yes
About the Burnout Pad
Meremere features a dedicated burnout pad located separately from the main drag racing strip.
The pad can be used for standalone burnout competitions, allowing promoters to hold dedicated burnout events without needing to use the drag strip itself.
Over the years, Meremere has hosted everything from grassroots burnout events through to major competitions featuring some of New Zealand’s top burnout cars.
The venue is also available for private and commercial event hire, with the burnout pad specifically available for standalone burnout competitions.
About the Venue
Meremere Dragway opened at Easter 1973 after a group of motorsport enthusiasts recognised the need for a permanent drag racing facility in the greater Auckland region.
The Pukekohe Hot Rod Club was instrumental in establishing the facility and remains responsible for its day-to-day maintenance, improvements and drag racing events.
Today, NAPA Auto Parts Dragway is one of New Zealand’s most established motorsport venues, hosting drag racing, burnouts and a range of other automotive events.
With its permanent burnout pad, extensive pit areas and established motorsport infrastructure, Meremere has become an important venue for New Zealand’s legal burnout scene.
MEremere Dragway
The Lawrence Burnout Pad is a purpose-built facility located at the Wetherstons Gully Gymkhana Grounds near Lawrence in Otago.
Built with strong support from the local community, the pad provides a permanent home for burnout competitions in the area and has helped establish Lawrence as another destination on the South Island burnout calendar.
Quick Info
Location: Lawrence, Otago
Venue: Wetherstons Gully Gymkhana Grounds
Facility Type: Permanent Burnout Pad
Status: Active
Dedicated Burnout Area: Yes
Purpose Built: Yes
Major Events: Lawrence Rev, Rock & Hop and other burnout competitions
About the Burnout Pad
Plans for a dedicated burnout pad at Wetherstons Gully were underway by 2019, with local supporters and businesses helping raise funds towards construction of the new facility.
The purpose-built pad formed part of the development of the Gymkhana Grounds as a home for a range of motorsport and recreational activities.
The first burnout competition associated with the expanded Lawrence Rev, Rock & Hop event was held at the grounds in November 2020, attracting experienced burnout competitors from around the South Island.
Since then, the pad has continued to host burnout events, providing competitors with a dedicated and controlled location to take part in the sport.
About the Venue
Wetherstons Gully Gymkhana Grounds is a community recreation and motorsport facility located near Lawrence.
The wider grounds accommodate several different activities and clubs, with the burnout pad becoming one of the more recent additions to the facility.
Clutha District Council's Lawrence-Tuapeka Reserve Management Plan specifically recognises the burnout pad as one of the improvements made to the Gymkhana Grounds by the local community.
The Lawrence facility is another important part of the growing network of dedicated legal burnout venues throughout the South Island.
Lawrence Car Club
Home of Muscle Car Madness
Muscle Car Madness is home to one of New Zealand’s most unique permanent burnout pads, located within the Rangiora A&P Showgrounds in North Canterbury.
While considerably smaller than many of the country’s modern competition pads, its tight circular layout has become a distinctive part of the annual Muscle Car Madness event.
Quick Info
Location: Rangiora, North Canterbury
Venue: Rangiora A&P Showgrounds
Event: Muscle Car Madness
Facility Type: Permanent Burnout Pad
Pad Size: Approx. 20m diameter circle
Status: Active
Dedicated Burnout Area: Yes
Major Event: Muscle Car Madness Burnout Competition
About the Burnout Pad
The Muscle Car Madness burnout pad is a dedicated circular pad measuring approximately 20 metres across.
Before the dedicated pad was constructed, burnouts at Muscle Car Madness were held on a small section of paved car park near the public road.
As the burnout competition grew in popularity, a dedicated circular burnout pad was constructed towards the back of the Rangiora Showgrounds, providing a permanent area for the event.
Its small 20-metre layout makes it very different from many other New Zealand burnout pads. Drivers have limited room to work with, putting an emphasis on car control and driver skill.
Muscle Car Madness even reminds competitors that putting a wheel onto the grass means the end of their run.
About the Event
Muscle Car Madness is one of New Zealand’s longest-running automotive festivals and has been held in Rangiora for more than three decades.
The annual event brings together muscle cars, hot rods, classics, street machines and modified vehicles from throughout New Zealand.
Burnouts have become one of the major attractions of the weekend, with qualifying taking place on Saturday before the top competitors return for the finals on Sunday.
The combination of a compact permanent burnout pad, large crowds and the atmosphere of Muscle Car Madness has made the Rangiora pad one of the more recognisable burnout venues in the South Island.
Muscle Car Madness
The Home of Rev South
Riverside Speedway in Invercargill is home to one of the South Island’s established permanent burnout pads.
Located at Sandy Point, the venue is primarily known for speedway racing, but it has also played an important role in New Zealand’s burnout scene over the years.
Quick Info
Location: Invercargill, Southland
Venue: Riverside Speedway
Address: 190 Sandy Point Road, Invercargill
Facility Type: Permanent Burnout Pad
Status: Active
Major Events: RevSouth, NZ Burnout Championship
About the Burnout Pad
The burnout pad was already in use by 2017, when it was extended and reshaped ahead of a round of the New Zealand Burnout Championship.
Since then, Riverside has continued to host dedicated burnout competitions, including RevSouth, with everything from grassroots cars through to high-powered Pro burnout machines competing at the venue.
About the Venue
Riverside Speedway has operated at Sandy Point since 1977 and is home to the Southland Stock Car Drivers Association.
The venue includes established spectator areas, pits and motorsport infrastructure, making it well suited to large burnout events.
Its location in Invercargill also makes Riverside an important facility for the lower South Island burnout community, giving competitors a dedicated venue to compete in a controlled and legal environment.
REV SOUTH