{"id":353166,"date":"2026-03-29T04:11:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T04:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/353166\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T04:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T04:11:19","slug":"new-zealand-motorsport-mourns-death-of-founding-father-morrie-chandler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/353166\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand motorsport mourns death of \u2018founding father\u2019 Morrie Chandler"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/657441001_1348378987324341_6514650687908577319_n.jpg\" alt=\"New Zealand motorsport mourns death of \u2018founding father\u2019\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorrie Chandler. Image: Geoff Ridder<\/p>\n<p>Chandler\u2019s involvement in the sport spanned more than half a century and took him to the upper echelon.<\/p>\n<p>He was a competitor, administrator, and team boss.<\/p>\n<p>Globally, he was perhaps best known for his role as the FIA vice president. At home, he played a key part in the success of Rally New Zealand and was president of MotorSport New Zealand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMorrie Chandler was one of the most influential figures our sport has ever known,\u201d said MotorSport New Zealand president Deborah Day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis leadership, vision, and tireless commitment helped shape not only motorsport in New Zealand, but across the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe gave so much to the sport he loved, and his legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand motorsport\u2019s governing body labelled Chandler \u201ca towering figure whose influence on New Zealand and global motorsport spanned more than five decades.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chandler was elected to the MotorSport New Zealand executive board in 1973 and became president in 1977, which he held until 1998.<\/p>\n<p>He competed in the Rally of New Zealand from 1971 until 1983 and was a staple of the New Zealand Rally Championship.<\/p>\n<p>The New Zealand Rally Championship described Chandler as a \u201cfounding father\u201d and \u201cicon\u201d of the sport.<\/p>\n<p>With the sport\u2019s global governing body, he was the president of the World Motor Sport Council and was the vice president of the FIA.<\/p>\n<p>Chandler was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 1997 and was honoured with MotorSport New Zealand\u2019s highest accolade, President d\u2019Honneur, in 1998.<\/p>\n<p>He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Halberg Awards in 2018, which recognises New Zealand sport\u2019s highest achievers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMorrie Chandler\u2019s passing marks the loss of a true pioneer, whose impact on motorsport is immeasurable,\u201d MotorSport New Zealand said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe leaves behind a legacy defined by passion, service, and excellence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMotorSport New Zealand extends its deepest condolences to Morrie\u2019s family, friends, and the many people around the world who were touched by his remarkable life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Speedcafe extends its thoughts to Morrie\u2019s family and the New Zealand motorsport community.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/t.cfjump.com\/92797\/b\/294243\" rel=\"nofollow sponsored noopener\" data-bid=\"1\" data-no-instant=\"1\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none; vertical-align: middle;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/294243.gif\" alt=\"\"\/><br \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Morrie Chandler. Image: Geoff Ridder Chandler\u2019s involvement in the sport spanned more than half a century and took&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353167,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-353166","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}