Motorsport loses three popular supporters

OPINION: Motorsport in Canterbury is the poorer for the deaths of three popular and stalwart supporters and former competitors.

Dean Kirk, who competed for over 25 years, reached the peak of his competitive career racing a rapid RX7 in OSCA in the 1980s.

More recently, he had occasional outings in Super Saloons at Woodford Glen and had been heavily involved with his son Luke's kart racing.

Dave Cawley, better known as DC, was a former TQ and midget car racer at Ruapuna Speedway and, as president, he guided the Christchurch Speedway Association through difficult financial times during the early 1990s.

His auto parts shop at Hornby was a "drop-in" spot for speedway aficionados and, with a keen ear for speedway gossip, he was a good source of snippets for this column.

Last weekend, Selwyn Burt, one of the best-known names in the long history of Christchurch speedway racing, died. A noted rider and driver at the Aranui track during the 1950s, he was instrumental in getting the new track up and running at Templeton, where he competed with distinction in the solo bike and TQ classes.

He was also involved with the Ellesmere Motor Racing Club for many years.

Motorsport can be a self-centred sport, with the drivers claiming almost all the attention. Kirk, Cawley and Burt were, therefore, somewhat unusual in that they maintained an interest in motorsport long after their own competitive careers had ended.

MonacoNew Zealand's Matt Halliday finished eighth in the Porsche Supercup race on the support programme for the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend.

The former A1GP driver qualified 12th in the 23-car field and passed four cars, despite limited passing opportunities.

The next Supercup round will be held at the European Grand Prix meeting at Valencia on June 27.

Craig Baird will be back in action in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia this weekend in the second round of the series in Beijing. He is third in the series after the opening round. Baird has become more familiar with the new car's set-up and his Triple X team is confident he can challenge series leader German Christian Menzel.

NurburgringKiwi Team Nurburgring were first and second in Class with their Honda Civic Type Rs in last weekend's ADAC 24-hour race on the infamous German circuit. Brian McGovern, Mathew Noonan, Nick Chester and Greg Spark shared the driving in the class-winning car.

The team's other car, an Audi RS4, with a driver line-up headed by Andy Booth, was one of the retirements in a race in which only 123 of the 247 starting vehicles finished.

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