PARTY TIME! EXCELLENT!

> WE KICKED OFF 2021 BY OFFICIALLY CROWNING THE 2020 VALVOLINE STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR!

WE NORMALLY kick off the Summernats weekend with the annual Valvoline Street Machine Of The Year VIP party, and despite COVID’S best efforts, we weren’t going to be denied a chance to raise a glass. With Summernats Slam rocking Sydney Dragway, a COVID-SAFE crew including 2020 SMOTY winner Aaron Gregory and his mates, Street Machine staff and industry VIPS took over the Cricketer’s Arms pub around the corner from the Harbour City’s drag strip.

The formalities began with Rob Starling presenting Murwillumbah-based designer and all-’round whiz-kid, Aidan Donald, with the Laurie Starling Scholarship for Innovation and Excellence in Automotive Fabrication. The hyper-talented 21-year-old behind Aidan’s Design & Illustration specialises in awesome car renderings, the likes of which have been used by top-line shops like Proflo,

Full Throttle Custom Garage, Southern Rod & Custom and Image Conversions. Aidan is also a 3D-printing wizard, knocking up many parts for his own VL project car, and looking to use the scholarship to push boundaries with this technology.

He’s kicked off 2021 in style, using some of the funds from the scholarship to get himself a better computer to work on. “I’ve had a purpose-built computer built so it can do 3D build renderings faster, while also doing CAD on the side,” he said.

Aidan joins a long list of incredibly talented young people to be recognised for their skill and innovation in the car-building industry, and he was humbled by being selected as the 2021 winner.

“It means a lot to win the award,” he said. “To me, the prestige of the award and recognition is more important than the funds I got, which are still important. But to be presented with this award in front the elites of the industry was awesome.”

The formalities wrapped up with SM editor Broads and Valvoline’s Tony Mcdermott handing Aaron Gregory the SMOTY trophy and a novelty cheque for $20K. The minitrucker then wasted no time in celebrating the win by slinging beers and rums down the trophy’s trumpets, in what he dubbed a ‘trumboner’.

“It was great to finally be able to celebrate the win after having to keep it quiet for so long,” Aaron said. “I hope we put a dint in the bar tab and everyone had a great time!”

As with all the Street Machine VIP parties, once the formalities were over it was back to robust discussions of great importance until early the following morning [more of that from p. 56]. Thanks to Valvoline for their continued support of the Street Machine Of The Year award, and to everyone who came along.

MAIN: Valvoline marketing manager Tony Mcdermott and SM editor Broads officially hand over the SMOTY trophy and a cheque for twenty thousand smackeroonies to a justifiably proud Aaron Gregory ABOVE: Laurie’s father, Rob Starling, shared some exciting news with the crowd at the SMOTY party. The foundation has acquired an HR Holden that was a past project of Laurie’s. Plans are to complete the build with input from Scholarship winners, with the finished project raffled off to raise funds to further Laurie’s legacy in the form of future scholarships LEFT: Aidan (left) and Aaron (right) were both over the moon, with Aaron especially stoked to be able to meet one of his heroes, Valvoline-backed Sprintcar legend Max Dumesny. “I grew up watching Max race, so this is pretty wild,” he said. “To be honest, I’m fangirling pretty hard right now!”