New childrens area at Speedshow 09 to feature Roary the Racing Car

A dedicated children’s area – which includes the first New Zealand appearance of popular animated cartoon character ‘Roary the Racing Car’ – adds a whole new dimension to this year’s Speedshow motorsport extravaganza.

Speedshow, which takes place at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland’s Greenlane over the weekend of 19 and 20 September, will feature a new area dubbed ‘Speedshow 4 Kids’, a self-contained children’s area with a range of fun, safe, interactive activities for children, says Speedshow organiser Keith Sharp.

“Among some excellent feedback from last year’s Speedshow visitors were comments that it would have been great to have more for children to do,” says Sharp. “So we’ve developed Speedshow 4 Kids where children can enjoy trying some motoring action of their own.

“We’re particularly delighted to welcome ‘Roary the Racing Car’ to Speedshow 4 Kids in his first official New Zealand appearance. Roary, whose character is voiced by Sir Stirling Moss in the animated television show, will be accompanied by his personal mechanic Big Chris, so their visit to Speedshow is going to be a huge draw-card for smaller children and their parents.”

Speedshow 4 Kids activities include the popular Kruzin Kids hot rod rides, special Speedshow guest appearance of the characters from long-time top-rating show ‘The Simpsons’. And related to our overarching theme of all things speed-related, kids and adults alike can test their ball-kicking skills in the Kia Speed Kick Challenge.”

Sharon Pownall of Kruzin Kids says the small electric-powered hot rods are hugely popular wherever they appear.

“Children age six and over can drive themselves and they love that!” says Sharon. “If they’re under six, they can be accompanied by either an older child or an adult. Sometimes we wonder if it’s the adults who have more fun! These gently-paced little cars are a great confidence builder for children of any age. We’re OSH-approved, have remote automatic shut-off systems for each car and the track is inside an inflatable barrier, so parents can be assured that this is an enjoyable, safe activity.”

Over at the Kia Speed Kick Challenge, participants get to see how fast they can kick a football. With a radar gun placed directly behind the back wall of a large football net, the radar measures the speed of each participant’s kick.

Speedshow ’09 takes place at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland over the weekend of 19 and 20 September. It incorporates several shows-within-the-show. Alongside Speedshow 4 Kids will be ‘Speedshow on Track’, the comprehensive celebration of motorsport with huge arrays of race cars and all associated performance equipment and race gear. Adding to the overall excitement motoring fans of all types will be ‘Speedshow on the Road’ with new and exciting performance cars from the world’s leading marques and ‘Speedshow on 2 Wheels’ featuring a fantastic array of new, vintage and classic motorcycles and accessories.

Star attractions at Speedshow already confirmed include the world’s fastest NASCAR. More announcements about the activities and displays for Speedshow ’09 and Speedshow 4 Kids are due in coming weeks.

ENDS/