Aden Omnet and his fast Toyota Altezza. Photo by Sally Rae.
The Oamaru motor racing enthusiast was driving his 550-horsepower Toyota Altezza, which he built with a friend, and the car - built for the racing technique drifting - was not really designed for the hill event.
In the hill climb, he finished 10th in his class in 1min 3.98sec, well behind winner Bruce Saxton (Mitsubishi Evo 6), who scorched up the hill in 54.73sec.
It was the first car Mr Omnet (25) had built and he estimated it had cost about $50,000, but "hundreds of thousands" of hours went into it.
Mr Omnet, who has an internet tyre business, said he enjoyed looking out the side window, with the wind in his face and not being able to see anything out the back but smoke.
"It's awesome." Mr Omnet said.
