Stratford Press

Successful weekend thanks to all

- Jarrod MacBeth

Running the Five Star Liquor New Zealand Stockcar Championsh­ip in January at Stratford Speedway was no small feat and required lots of volunteer work behind the scenes.

All of us at the Taranaki Stockcar Club were proud to have the opportunit­y to run this event and bring it to Taranaki. It was the chance to provide the opportunit­y for our local drivers to showcase their skills and to bring visitors in the form of drivers, crews, families, supporters and fans to the Stratford township and Taranaki as a whole.

The motels were full of race cars, there were people everywhere wearing team and speedway shirts, and there was a true buzz in the air throughout the township.

Taranaki Stockcar Club president Kim Sharpe led the charge on the organising of this event that started well before racing even began.

It started with sponsorshi­p, then entry forms, track upgrades such as pit lighting, extra seating, upgraded seating in the grandstand and so on, before culminatin­g in long days of logistical planning and configurin­g in the weeks and days leading up to the event start.

Stratford Speedway is very fortunate to have an excellent pool of volunteers and staff who were able to come together as a single team unit and deliver an event that ran smoothly and provided a good show, from the pre-racing activities of the fan zone right through to the drop of the last chequered flag.

Kim says she thanks everyone involved for all their hard work, time and effort. “Our committee, subcommitt­ee, staff and volunteers are all true legends, and we cannot run our club without them. There is never enough thanks or appreciati­on shown to you all, but you are the glue that makes everything stick. ”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from New Zealand