Speedshow 09 revs up with fantastic racers

Motor racing fans will have a veritable feast of racing cars and motorbikes to savour during September’s Speedshow at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland.

This year Speedshow features race cars and bikes of all shapes and sizes, says the event’s developer and organiser, Keith Sharp.

“As a long-time race driver and fan myself, this aspect of the show gets more and more exciting the closer we get to the event’s opening day on Saturday 19 September,” says Sharp. “There is such a variety of cars and bikes for motorsport fans to enjoy. Race cars like those from the New Zealand V8s, the unrestricted racers of the GT1 racing series, the sleek, fast Porsche GT3s, the ultra-fun Suzuki production cars and the outrageous top-class drifters from the D1NZ series. Western Springs will be celebrating 80 years of speedway, and then we’ve got racing karts for all ages, the new sports car-style racing series from Juno Racing NZ, New Zealand’s newest saloon car racing series – the Motul Honda Cup, and top Suzuki Superbikes ... wow, the list goes on.”

Speedshow visitors can meet a number of top competitors including New Zealand midget speedway champion Michael Pickens and former professional superbike racer Aaron Slight who will be a special guest on the Honda stand all weekend.

“Popular V8 race driver Angus Fogg unveils his new-look LG Ford at Speedshow and everyone is welcome to gather at the LG stand at 10am on Saturday to share this exciting unveiling with ‘Foggy’ and the LG Ford team,” adds Sharp.

Rally New Zealand joins Speedshow this year with plenty of news about the return of the World Rally Championship event to New Zealand in May 2010. Register for the informative Rally New Zealand e-newsletter on their stand and go in the draw to win an amazing opportunity to meet the Ford WRC team during the event next May – you can’t buy this kind of experience!

Opportunities for maximum fun on a smaller budget abound among the enthusiastic competitors of the Pre-56 Club, Star Touring Cars, the New Zealand SS2000 series and the Mini Racing Drivers Club of New Zealand.

Speedshow ’09 takes place at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland over the weekend of 19 and 20 September. This year’s event also includes the world’s fastest NASCAR, Roary the Racing Car in the new Speedshow 4 Kids area, fantastic new cars and motorcycles from some of the world’s leading manufacturers, a wide array of motoring and motorsport-related exhibitors and the Batmobile from the original Batman movie courtesy of Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast. Tickets are available at the gate or from Ticketek (www.ticketek.co.nz). Speedshow is open from 9am to 6pm both days and more information about the event can be found on www.speedshow.co.nz.

ENDS/