Millen’s winning car on display

One of a Kiwi racing legend’s cars is on display at a dealership in Christchurch for one month.

The Mazda 323 was previously owned by Rod Millen, who competed in numerous many motorsports, including rallying, super-touring, off-roading, hill-climbing and drifting.

“This car has had a lot of history in rally motorsport in New Zealand,” enthuses Rob Manning, dealer principal of Blackwells Mazda.

“We have it here after current owner Ross McKay reached out. He had the iconic vehicle on display in most motorsport-related museums throughout New Zealand and it has made its way back to Christchurch.

“It’s also 35 years since it won, so it’s not a bad way to commemorate one of the most successful Mazdas in Kiwi history.”

Manning adds anyone is welcome to pop into the dealership, which is on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Montreal Street, during business hours Monday to Saturday.

“Our friendly Blackwells Mazda team will even make visitors a coffee while they have look. We will have it in the showroom for the month of October.”

Millen’s APRC-winning 323

The story of the rebirth of Rod Millen’s Asia-Pacific Rally Championship-winning four-wheel-drive (4WD) Mazda 323 starts with two mates – Richard Cocker and Ross McKay – on a road trip recalling past rallying adventures.

What has happened to some old cars and where they ended up came up when, mid-conversation, Cocker said: “OL4090”. 

Some 17 years earlier, McKay had co-driven an OL4090 for a few New Zealand national championship rounds for a local driver. There was always something special about that car. He loved how it was built for the day and its history. 

Three days later, McKay’s phone rang. Cocker said: “Write this number down. It’s the guy that owns OL4090”. He left it at that. 

McKay sat on that phone number for a few days, pondering if he needed another project. Having won the 1992 NZ National Junior Rally Championship in a Group N Mazda, the same model as this one, he had fond memories of the 323.

A few calls and weeks later, they on another road trip on the back blocks north of Auckland to where OL4090 had been sitting in a shed, unused for six years. 

“After getting it home, I was unsure what we were going to do with the car,” said McKay. “I made a trip to one of the first Leadfoot Festivals, an event that runs up Rod Millen’s driveway. 

“After talking with Rod and meeting with Peter Davidson, who had worked on the car back when Rod won the 1989 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship [APRC] in it, it become clear Rod had never driven the car in RHD form.

“It had been converted from its original LHD when Rod sold the car back to New Zealand to former NZ rally champion Dave Ayling.” 

The search began for some LHD parts to return it back to its original state. This proved quite difficult, but they found a complete LHD rally car in Iceland. It also had the era’s “sought after” X-Trac six-speed gearbox.

“We purchased the car and shipped it to New Zealand, stripped it of the LHD parts that were needed and the original car was rebuilt from there,” recalled McKay. 

“In 1989, the OL4090 was built from new at Rod Millen Motorsports in America as part of a two-car team to take on the 1989 APRC. It was run in Millen livery and ran a five-speed gearbox. They went on to win the championship that year. 

“The OL4090 was the car Rod’s team used in the WRC rounds of New Zealand and Australia when, in the Rally of NZ, he finished second overall behind the European Mazda of Ingvar Carlsson to give Mazda its only ever one-two at a WRC event.”

The vehicle was then taken to Australia. It finished fifth overall behind the all-conquering European factory Lancia and Toyota teams. 

A second Mazda, the OL4091, was used in the three other APRC rounds. In 1990, it ran in official Mazda colours and become part of Mazda Rally Team Asia-Pacific. It was upgraded to use an X-Trac six-speed gearbox for that year. 

After striking turbo trouble in Rally NZ and being withdrawn from Rally Australia, the team ended up third in the APRC behind Carlos Sainz and Ross Dunkerton. 

McKay said: “Although the car had more success in the Rod Millen Motorsport livery, a decision was made when we found the X-Trac gearbox that it need to run in colours that stayed true to the specification of the time.

“It has taken seven years to complete the restoration and, where possible, keep it as close as we could to the era. The car is running the same suspension, fuel system, four-pot callipers of that era and instrumentation. 

“We believe it still has the original steering wheel, co-driver tripmeter and rear-directional Panasport wheels that Rod designed for himself. They have the Millen name manufactured into them.

“Richard passed away before the restoration was complete. His attention to detail will be held in high regard with his involvement working alongside the painter, using those trainspotter skills to get the colour match spot on.”

This article has been edited from the original published by RallySportMag.com. Click here for the full piece from October 2018.