Bargwanna to join the walk of fame
V8 supercar champion Jason Bargwanna has joined an elite list of athletes recognised in Baw Baw Shire’s sporting walk of fame.
The Warragul based racing car driver is the 20th inductee in the walk which is in Civic Park, Warragul.
He joins fellow motorsport champion Jason Bright as well as other local sporting heroes including AFL greats Gary Ablett senior, Barry Round, Peter Knights and Alan Noonan, boxing legend Lionel Rose and cycling champions Kathy Watt and Peter Bartels.
Jason’s Australian racing career spanned 15 years, including 377 races, seven wins, 23 podium finishes and three pole positions.
In 2011 Jason left the Australian V8 supercars and joined the New Zealand V8 Touring Car Championship, where he was equally as successful winning championships in 2012-13, 2014-15 and finished second in the 2017-18 season
Jason began his racing career in the late 1980s with his big break in 1997 when he was selected as one of Holden's Young Lions and raced for Garry Rogers Motorsport. He made his V8 Supercars debut at Sandown 500 that year.
The following year, he along with co-driver Jim Richards, won third place at the Bathurst 1000.
In 2000, again in a Garry Rogers Valvoline Cummins Holden, teamed with Garth Tander, Jason won the Bathurst 1000 race, the holy grail of motorsport in Australia and New Zealand.
Jason remained with Garry Rogers for five years before switching to Ford in 2003 and driving for Larkham Motorsport until 2008.
Jason will be formally inducted into the sporting walk of fame when COVID restrictions are eased.
Cr Peter Kostos said Jason was nominated because of his notoriety in car racing and a long list of accolades throughout his career.
“He is a Warragul resident, a businessman and is still a sportsman.
“Jason has been here for a number of years now, has operated several businesses and currently operates a transport business.
“He is a very humble person and a very fitting recipient,” he said.
Cr Tricia Jones said Jason was nominated by someone who had followed his career and was aware of achievements.
She said he met the criteria for the walk of fame in having a sustained performance at a very high level.
Cr Joe Gauci said Jason was modest and would never be out and about in the community talking about his achievements.
Cr Mikaela Power encouraged community members to consider other nominations for the sporting walk of fame.
For an athlete to be inducted into council’s sporting walk of fame, they must meet specific guidelines including:
Significant and sustained performance at a very high level in open competition;
Performances at a national or international level in sports of significance; and,
Participation in team activity must indicate the performance was significant, not just a member of a high level team;
In special cases, a successful state level athlete will be included while performances in areas of a limited filed of endeavour will be given careful consideration.
Residential qualifications are flexible but the individual generally has to reside in the shire for a significant period of their life or started on the path of sporting success while a shire resident.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for fast rail services between Gippsland and Melbourne as well as on other major regional lines – trains travelling at speeds up to 200 kilometres per hour - to boost the State’s economy.
Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath said the recently released “Stronger Together” report said the benefit to Victoria could be as much as $200 billion.
She said the fast services would significantly cut travel times, double capacity and strengthen the populations and economic activity in regional centres and adjacent areas.
Ms Bath described a fast, reliable and modern train service would be a “game changer” for Gippsland.
“Many Gippslanders commute to metropolitan areas daily for work, for tertiary education and to attend medical appointments”.
The present service is more miss than hit with punctuality targets missed for more than five years, she added.
Ms Bath said the pandemic was changing the way we live and work and strong economic growth, fairness and opportunity were needed in all communities, not just in metropolitan Melbourne.
Fast rail remained a key priority of The Nationals, she said.
The Stronger Together Alliance is a group of regional city councils, universities, regional businesses and community leaders that advocates for massive upgrades to country rail services.