Race is on for Tweed Speed fest

ORGANISERS pushing for a return of the Festival of Speed on Tweed are in a race against the clock to secure funding for the event, planned for September next year.

The motor racing event, which featured historic sports and racing cars in a time trial format over a 1.2km course through the streets of Murwillumbah, was last held in 2010.

A public meeting on Tuesday night in Murwillumbah presented the community and interested groups with the latest in planning, carried out by the Festival of Speed on Tweed committee.

Committee chairman Tonny van’t Riet said there had been strong and positive support from businesses and the community but time was against them in terms of raising funding.

“To ensure that Speed goes ahead this year, we need to have funding in place by March 31 so that we can notify competitors, arrange ancillary social events with council and work towards staging a memorable event in mid-September,” Mr van’t Riet said.

“At this stage we are looking at around $200,000 minimum but have received initial pre-commitments from local businesses who would be prepared to provide some financial support.”

Michael Simmons of the Murwillumbah Chamber of Commerce said pledges had been made totalling about $60,000 to date, should the event go ahead.

“This would be a great event for the town and the entire Tweed and we would be looking to incorporate a number of events around the actual racing to make it a festival for everyone,” he said.

Tweed Shire Council events and filming officer Kerrie McConnell said organisers had already overcome one major hurdle with the local traffic committee giving support in principle for the closure of streets that would be used for the track.

“This is a very significant move in allowing Speed to go ahead,” she said.