Welcome

Most New Zealand Speedway fans would agree that Wayne Hemi is one of the most successful and popular drivers in the sport today. They would agree that he is a significant threat every time he starts a race. He has scored a major individual or team victory every year since 2002, and has won more major event trophies than any other driver in the sport.

His rise to the top of the Superstock class unofficially began at age five, when Wayne would watch his father Doug racing stockcars at Wellington's Te Marua speedway. After years of spectating and developing a passion for his chosen sport, Wayne finally got behind the wheel of his own car at age 19.

Wayne was born with a learning disability, which although it proved to be a large obstacle at school, did not diminish his ability or determination to succeed. Wayne's parents also taught him accountability and the importance of working hard, meaning if he wanted to race, he was responsible to work on, repair and pay for his own cars. Wayne also learned early on that inexperience and carelessness on the track proved costly – especially in the world of full contact motor racing. If you put yourself in the wrong place, you got smashed. If you tried to take out a driver without watching your back, you got smashed.

This would result in destroyed race cars and not being able to race the next week. To counter this, Wayne watched and learned from the best. He improved his racing habits and he started a business that would help him earn money and pay for his racing. He has always aspired to be the best and to have the best equipment to get there. He took pride in his equipment and raced with aggression, but also with respect for drivers who deserved it.

His early years of racing were spent honing his skills and trying out different equipment. Although he achieved some success, he wasn't reaching his own goals and targets. From 1999 to 2002, Wayne had a wave of mechanical problems and seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for too many major events. He had a run of DNFs and was always battling with reliability issues. In 2002, that all changed when he won the New Zealand Superstock Championship. With the assistance of clubmates and friendly rivals, Wayne fought off solid attempts to take him out of the championship. The winning of this championship seemed to be the breakthrough Wayne needed to embark on a path of continued success.

After a trip to the USA in 2003, Wayne implemented a number of innovative approaches to the sport, partnering with American race specialists to build and configure a race setup based on speed and reliability. This paved the way for an impressive host of regular individual and teams racing championship victories gained over the span of 9 years.

His winning reputation and professional approach to racing are seen as true benchmarks in New Zealand motorsport. He has a reputation for being hard, strong and aggressive on the track – and innovative, sharp and approachable off the track. He is loved by his fans and takes a huge amount of time to keep in contact with them through his Facebook page and website. He values that support and spends hours talking, chatting and signing autographs before and after race meetings.

In 2012, Wayne launches into a whole new approach to racing. With as much an appreciation of fans, sponsors and supporters as a new campaign, the Wayne Hemi Red Waka 2012 experience will be a tribute to the support and devotion shown by fans and sponsors alike. New website. New car. New innovations.

Let's move forward into a whole new era of success.