Rod’s health declined in recent months, but before his passing he was paid a special visit by Anthony Prendergast and Dianne Prendergast, who restored his 1983 Open Saloon Car Association (OSCA) title-winning ‘Chev Cortina’.
The Cantabrian who hailed from Ashburton was a stalwart of saloon racing in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s – beginning a motor racing family dynasty well known on both sides of the Tasman.
His son Andy was a Formula Ford and TraNZam champion before moving to Australia where he started the renowned Porsche team McElrea Racing.
Rod’s grandson Hunter has established himself as a sports car star and made his IndyCar debut in 2024 after climbing the Road to Indy ladder.
“We lost the original gangster this afternoon,” Andy wrote on Monday.
“His influence on my generation and beyond will last a long time.”
Hunter also took to social media with a tribute to his grandfather.
“To say he had a big impact on my life would be an understatement,” Hunter wrote.
“If you knew him, you knew how much he enjoyed a laugh and good story (and sneaky rum here and there). He was pretty much the perfect definition of ‘larger than life’.
“He started the connection and love of motorsport for our family. I feel very lucky to have my first memories of racing cars with him – driving around the South Island of NZ with his leaky trailer and my formula ford!
“Whether it was using power tools when I was way too young, or going drifting on shingle roads in his trucks when I was 12. We even did a car race together when he was in his 70s – you could say we had some fun.”
Several high-profile motorsport figures paid tribute to Rod, including Dick Bennetts of West Surrey Racing fame and 1995 Supercars champion John Bowe.
Former Supercars team owner Paul Cruickshank wrote: “A champion racer and champion bloke, such a massive help to us when we were finding our racing path, and always had the best stories, even the re-told versions were cracker.”
Lost my best mate yesterday. Going to miss him heaps! Too many good memories to name. He was a legend and the reason my family started in Motorsport.
Love you Granadad, hope to keep making you proud. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UfvQ8dyOf6
— Hunter McElrea (@HunterMcElrea) February 10, 2025
New Zealand motorsport journalist Allan Dick of Auto News labelled Rod “The world’s greatest motorsport enthusiast.”
In 2015, the three McElreas raced a Toyota 86 together in a three-hour race at their home circuit Ruapuna.
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