South Island boy racers appear to be admitting defeat after being outfoxed by police during the Aves Invasion in Christchurch on Saturday night.
The annual event sees car enthusiasts cause chaos in the city, with drivers throwing bottles at police, making hoax emergency calls, keeping people awake with loud noise and clogging the streets with vehicles.
Following petrolhead activities taking place on Friday and Saturday nights, a third night was planned for Sunday, but Newshub has obtained access to their private Facebook group that shows some are calling it quits.
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Boy racers have been posting to the group saying it's "game over" and that Saturday night was a "waste of gas" after they drove all over the city, only to get moved on by police.
The car enthusiasts tried every trick in the book in their quest to burn some rubber, travelling to back streets from Rolleston to Lyttelton. The drivers rolled out in convoy, using Snapchat to organise meet-ups every half an hour.
But police were ahead of them at almost every turn, beating them to their spots and shutting the streets before they could get there.
Officers spent the night manning checkpoints to check for illegal modifications and enforcing alcohol laws.
It was an expensive night for some, with people both fined for drinking in public and being forced to tip their alcohol out.
"Ten people were arrested for various offences - three were found to have excess breath alcohol, while around 30 cars were taken off the road due to being defective or unsafe," a police spokesperson told Newshub.
"A number of speed camera tickets and infringement notices were also issued."
The game of cat-and-mouse ran into the early hours of Sunday morning, as the car enthusiasts tried everything they could to outsmart police.
But it seems they've now given up, and Sunday night could be a quiet for the people of Christchurch.
Newshub.
