2011 CRC Speedshow a huge success

Car and bike fans voted with their wallets with nearly 24,000 people attending this year’s CRC Speedshow in Auckland where they enjoyed the opportunity to meet Kiwi V8 racing star Shane van Gisbergen, see a Lotus Renault Formula 1 car in New Zealand for the first time and much more.

The 2011 show marked the fifth year for the annual celebration of autos and motorsport and, as happened last year, visitor numbers increased by about 20 per cent over the previous year’s figure.

The concept for Speedshow was developed by Auckland-based former top racing driver Keith Sharp who runs the event with the support of a small team.

“CRC Speedshow in 2011 was fantastic from start to finish,” enthuses Sharp. “We have a tremendous group of exhibitors who all made a great effort to offer Speedshow visitors an amazing variety of special vehicles on display.

“It was also an honour to have Shane van Gisbergen join us at CRC Speedshow this year,” says Sharp. “The V8 Supercar Championship is one of the most-watched motor racing series for Kiwi fans and with Shane’s increasing success, winning his first V8SC race in Hamilton this year and following up with another win in Darwin, thousands of fans made the most of the chance to meet Shane in person. We also enjoyed meeting Shane and seeing him enjoy the show like everyone else; his runs in the very popular Mini motokhana were great! So thank you to Shane, to Ross and Jimmy Stone from Stone Brothers Racing, and to Alan Kemp who owns one of Shane’s former SP Tools V8 Falcon race cars and kindly allowed us to display it at CRC Speedshow.”

With the show sold out, every metre of the ASB Showgrounds venue featured a car, a bike or people, technology and equipment connected with automobiles and motorsport.

Among them was the team from Castrol. Marketing manager Jayne McEwan comments: “The 2011 CRC Speedshow has been a fantastic experience, one that underlines the passion Kiwis have for their cars and for all things automotive. We talked to a huge number of people and everyone loved the show and what we had on display.

“Speedshow really taps into an audience that loves motorsport and enjoys checking out the products available from companies like Castrol that are associated with the sport in all its shapes and forms.

“As an added bonus we were named best motorsport display of the show in a competition judged by mystery shopper, which was a fantastic boost for the people who put in all the effort to make this happen,” says McEwan.

“The coolest thing we did at this year’s show was the launch of our new text service for car owners who are not sure what engine oil to use in their cars. People can text their car’s make and model to our technical department and receive a reply giving them the recommended oil – peace of mind in a matter of seconds. We’re the first such company to offer this kind of service in this country. We also ran a ‘wheel of fortune’ with each correct spin earning the ‘spinner’ a free pack of engine oil suitable for their car. I think making our display interactive was really very important and really adds to the whole experience for Speedshow visitors.”

With Speedshow covering a broad spectrum of motorsport-related activities, the Auckland Car Club and sister organisation The Motorsport Club enjoyed the chance to raise awareness of their clubs’ activities.

ACC president Bob White thinks highly of Speedshow. “The Auckland Car Club offers a range of motorsport events for all ages, from racing for modified production cars to the Manukau Institute of Technology motorsport class where students build and race a car in a series we run for them. It’s great to have the chance to tell people about the competitions and club-oriented activities we organise which offer a fun and not necessarily expensive way to get into competitive motorsport.”

Other highlights of the 2011 CRC Speedshow included the Minister of Transport Hon. Steven Joyce unveiling the Lotus Renault Formula 1 car and a brand-new BNT V8 race car, with both occasions attracting hundreds of people. The Ezybuy Car Auction live action arena is always a highlight with stars from the D1NZ drifting series providing high octane excitement alongside the classic Mini motokhana and the smoking Big Ben Wildcard stunt utes. Hundreds more fans lined up for autographs from the drivers – including Kiwi V8 racing legend Greg Murphy – confirmed for the new V8SuperTourer series. There were also numerous new and custom motorbike displays with Ducati showing their new sport bike, the Diavel. Lifan offered test rides of their reliable, economical Chinese motorcycles and scooters in the arena and Victory Motorcycles again had a very popular display.

“Competitions were run, simulators were raced, specially-priced products were sold and fans went home happy!” says Sharp.

“Now we’re already thinking about key attractions for the 2012 event which is scheduled to take place over the weekend of 21 and 22 July, again at the ASB Showgrounds.”