David McKinney
12-06-2011, 11:14 AM
I have just heard that Les Reisterer from Matamata died last week, at the age of 77
His name possibly won't mean much to any but followers of hillclimbing: from the late '50s to the mid '60s he was almost unbeatable in the small-saloon class of events from Waikato to Rotorua and the BoP, first with 100E Fords, then an A35 and finally a 105E, ultimately equipped with a 1300 engine
Then in 1968 he devised a Mini-powered hillclimb car named after the initials of the local company that built them for him, Matamata Engineering, and his own surname. Half a dozen on so MER single-seaters were sold, and a couple of sportscars, as a cheap entry-level car, and they enjoyed a good measure of success
For this contribution alone he deserves to be remembered
Condolences to his family and friends
His name possibly won't mean much to any but followers of hillclimbing: from the late '50s to the mid '60s he was almost unbeatable in the small-saloon class of events from Waikato to Rotorua and the BoP, first with 100E Fords, then an A35 and finally a 105E, ultimately equipped with a 1300 engine
Then in 1968 he devised a Mini-powered hillclimb car named after the initials of the local company that built them for him, Matamata Engineering, and his own surname. Half a dozen on so MER single-seaters were sold, and a couple of sportscars, as a cheap entry-level car, and they enjoyed a good measure of success
For this contribution alone he deserves to be remembered
Condolences to his family and friends