story & photos by craig lord

Often it is just as interesting,

if nOt mOre sO, tO find Out

what peOple dO away frOm the

race tracks rather than On it.

we were lucky enOugh tO find

One Of thOse peOple in the

fOrm Of peter ward, a man whO

has a passiOn fOr the rumble.

68 / V8RACER

V8RACER / 69

I have been lucky enough over the years to follow the code of V8 Ute racing in New Zealand since its inception. I have had the opportunity to see drivers

doing their thing on the track, and had the chance to talk to them a lot in the pits – and most of the time those chats are about their weekend of racing.

Understandably, many drivers like to keep their lives outside of the track private, but sometimes you find that there is something of incredible interest about a particular driver that needs sharing, something that shows the human interest side of motorsport away from the revving engines and screeching tyres. I found this in New Zealand, with a man from Auckland who now has a secondary home down South. Because of this I flew to Christchurch to spend a few hours with him on the job – and I didn’t realise the depth and emotion of what I was going to see.

Peter Ward is a family man, business man, and racing man – predominantly in that order. Those who follow the V8 Ute Racing in New Zealand would know Peter as ‘Wardy’ or more appropriately as ‘Kaos’. His racing nickname was changed after the first season of racing, more out of fun than honest reality, but in saying that, he has certainly had his fair share of on-track scrapes.

For Peter though, life is not all about racing, but he does have a passion for it. He was one of the ‘originals’ in the NZ V8 Ute racing game, one of the handful that helped bring the game into his country after watching the new code unfold in Australia. He admits that the first time he went around a track it was the noise, the feel and the rush, and the not having a clue of what to do, that made him so excited about the idea.

“Trust me, we were pretty bad when we first started” states Peter, “I mean we’re talking about guys who had

supervision is a must do.

he’s not an office man.

70 / V8RACER

NED DAWsoN

V8RACER / 71

never raced before, it was just one of those things in life that looked like too much fun to not try”.

He went to the Utes because it was a V8 but wasn’t anywhere near as quick as a touring car, and because the majority of the original starters in the field were learners it made it kind of equal, that allowed Peter to race with others of closer abilities. Because of that, he has achieved what he wanted out of racing Utes since its inception on the NZ circuits – fun – but of course he would love to achieve more, but he only has partial control over that, given he has others on the track at the same time, with the same goals. But the earlier points made are more important to Peter – his family and his business, because without those there would be no Ute racing...

Peter Ward is part of the brains trust behind Ward Demolition, and his world changed on the 22nd of February – the date of the second terrible earthquake to hit Christchurch.

Ward hails from Auckland and as soon as he saw how bad the quake was he was on a plane to Christchurch. When it comes to buildings that are coming down instead of going up he felt that his experience as a demolition man would be beneficial.

“I knew they would need people with unique skill sets. I work with structures so I can look at a building and pretty much tell straight away if it’s safe to be working in or around, that only comes with experience. You can’t teach that” says Peter. “But as soon as I landed I headed to the Civil Defence HQ to register – but they blew me off. They didn’t even want to take my name which, still to this day, I can’t understand, given that Ward Demolition is one of the biggest structural specialists in the country”.

Peter left the city still scratching his head and went

Peter Ward is part Of the brains

trust behind Ward demolition,

and his wOrld changed On

the 22nd Of february –

the date Of the secOnd

terrible earthquake tO hit

ChristChurCh.

NED DAWsoN

racing utes is a passion with perks.

72 / V8RACER

big jobs mean big equipment.

the team rely on peters skill.

V8RACER / 73

a moment to relax, but his phone never stops.

74 / V8RACER

V8RACER / 75

the devastatiOn inside the red ZOne Of christchurch is nOw a majOr part Of peters life

76 / V8RACER

the last of the ctv building, a site that the ward team will never forget.

V8RACER / 77

20 kilometres up the road to a small town called Kaiapoi where he had a team doing a shopping mall demolition, this was the 23rd of February, one day after the quake, and he and his team set about their own tasks.

He then received a phone call in the early evening, asking for him and his team to come help in the centre of Christchurch, as it happened the help was needed at the spot where the city was hit the worst – Madras Street, home to the devastated Canterbury Television (CTV) building.

The Ward crew had been working all day in Kaiapoi, now they were part of the recovery team at CTV taking over as night shift. “The crews we replaced were shattered, they were running on E and needed a good night’s sleep. We took over and let them relax till they returned at around 9am the next morning, this happened for three straight days”.

With 166 people perishing inside the CTV building when it collapsed, this was not a demolition job, this was a recovery operation. And it was something that Peter was fully mindful of. “As the materials around the building lessened it meant we didn’t need so many people on hand to operate the equipment, and that was perfect for me because I could reduce the crew and keep the young workers away from the site. We were getting close to where the crèche was located amongst other parts and I didn’t really think that they needed to see that. They had already seen too much”.

The processes during the phase of this recovery were emotional not only for friends and family who lost their loved ones, but also for the people who were doing everything they could to reunite them. The teams working on the site, the Japanese and the Australians were all

with 166 peOple perishing

inside the ctv building

when it cOllapsed,

this was nOt a demOlitiOn jOb,

this was a recOvery OperatiOn.

12 hour days.....

78 / V8RACER

unlike his ute, these jobs are under complete control, and the ward team ensures that the historical components of buildings are saved.

V8RACER / 79

feeling the same way, and months later they are all still feeling it. This was brought to the fore when the man who seems so rough and tumble, had a moment during the interview that showed his true human side. While asking Peter about the CTV work it was starting to become very clear that there was much more going on, that there was a bigger picture to be seen, and his next statement ensured that I saw it with a better understanding.

“It’s not just the magnitude of the CTV building; it’s really the whole of what we have to deal with down here. The reality is that I have knocked over people’s houses because they are unsafe, and there are people who have lost everything. Some of these people have very little to start with and now it’s all gone” says Peter. “I had to bring my wife and my kids down cause they needed to see this, they needed to see what the television doesn’t show, and I needed them to understand why I was away from home”. It was here that Peter went quiet, and here that I could see his eyes change from crystal clear, to mist.

I moved to asking him about his racing, and that again brought forth the state of affairs that Peter was dealing with. While he had moved temporarily to Christchurch to help with the quake cleanups, New Zealand’s summer season of motorsport had not yet finished with the final Taupo round and then the support racing at the Hamilton round of the V8 Supercars to still contend with. Peter made the decision to attend both, and whether that was to go racing or simply to get out of the zone for a while, is something only Peter and his wife will know, but he openly admits that the Taupo round wasn’t too good.

“Taupo was awful, I did shocking. I struggled and I don’t know if it was a car setup or my driving, but it was probably both. I had intentions to do some practice but

80 / V8RACER

V8RACER / 81

cleaning up christchurch is not a case of bulldozing and removing. it’s a methodical process to ensure things are done right.

82 / V8RACER

peter takes no pleasure in having to demolish people’s houses, but unsafe buildings must come down.

V8RACER / 83

for both Taupo and Hamilton I had no opportunities to do so, given what work is needed to be done here”. From there Peter had a simple philosophy for Hamilton, “I left it to the boys, I just turned up and drove. I was either going to hit the wall or deal to the race, there seemed to be no other option!” The option seemed to work as he ended up forth overall for the weekend. Don’t however think that he did it alone, because Peter puts a heap of it down to his family who were there to support him, he is an ultimate believer in the fact that you can’t go racing without them.

Back in Christchurch, on average, Peter works around twelve hours a day in the field, then goes back to the rental house to try and deal to the paperwork. His work is the same whether its demolition of buildings or demolitions on a track, the ethics are high but he surrounds himself with good people to make things happen. And although he may be in the South Island, his business base in the North Island city of Auckland still has to operate. He’s had the usual problems of staff being poached from both bases, but he clearly states that it’s just part of the business and you deal with it. Unfortunately it seems that things like that keep his personal hours longer.

The work in Christchurch will be ongoing for years, and because of that Peter will be staying longer to train up a crack team of local building professionals – but ones who can pull things down so that others can build them back up. “It’s a remorph for our business group, we are making changes like all businesses have to do and there is still so much to be done. I do have issues about being down here as I am away from my family for so long and I am concerned about that, but there will be a time when I can come and go with shorter stay times”.

84 / V8RACER

to peter, without friends and family there is no racing.

V8RACER / 85

With so much having to be done in Christchurch the big question is definitely “when will that time come?”

With Ward Demolition being the crew that will spend the rest of 2011 and some of 2012 demolishing the Grand Chancellor Hotel, they are there for the long haul. But even though Peter is all about up-skilling his staff, it’s not something that he feels can be done short term. “I need to be here at the moment because these buildings are in a weird state. They need me and I’m willing to do it. There will be a time when a building will catch me out, just hopefully not while anyone’s in it, but I’ve been doing this for over twenty years and as I said before you can’t really teach this, you just grow a feeling for it. You can take it to scientific and engineering levels, but the nuts of it is that a building or structure is a frame or block work and they are alive in a way”.

It seems from where I have been looking, that the city of Christchurch may in fact have an unsung hero in its midst. Sure he’s not doing it for free; he like all the other contracting companies have businesses to run and that in turn provides employment to others. But he is providing a skilled service that many ignore, they only take an interest in the work that the media heavily covers such as the Grand Chancellor, or they take an interest because things may seem to be taking too long – and they don’t consider the epic amounts of paperwork, red tape and authorities that have to be dealt with to try and speed things up. But the fact is, whether Peter and his team are at a house, a small office, or a multilevel accommodation hostel, it’s the love of the rumble that keeps them all going. V8R

86 / V8RACER

the reality is that we have

knOcked Over peOple’s hOuses

because they are unsafe,

and there are peOple whO

have lOst everything. sOme Of

these peOple have very little tO

start with and nOw it’s all gOne.