Autosport Club News   












 
20 FEBRUARY 2008 - PRESIDENT'S REPORT FOR 2007
Welcome to the Autosport Club’s Annual General Meeting for the year ended 2007. With the end of one year brings the start of another and this one is of particular significance for me personally. After 5 years I have decided to stand down as President of the Club to allow some fresh blood and new ideas to come through. It’s never an easy decision to make to step down from an executive position, or the committee in general for that matter, but you know in yourself when that time is right. Naturally, I will be staying on as Immediate Past President to help guide the Club through the transition where necessary, but I hope to ease away from direct involvement in the months to come. I have been a member of Autosport for some 25 years now, and a committee and executive member on two separate occasions during that time. However, despite this current change, I will continue to be a dedicated member of the Club for the foreseeable future, but now on the other side of the start line!

During my time on the committee and especially as President I have been fortunate to have had tremendous back up and support from numerous people both on and off the committee. To name any one person in particular would be unfair to all those who have worked with me over the years. Consequently, an enormous thanks to everyone who has made this Club the success it is today especially during my term as President.

So as for the year just ended, I would say once again the committee has succeeded in organising a great variety of events. From the autocross series through to our premier event, the Canterbury Rally, competitor numbers have generally been strong and it is reassuring to see an increase in new competitors whether young or “older”. At last year’s prize giving it was notable the number of younger competitors giving the old guard a bit of a hurry up! To me this indicates the Club is achieving one of its primary objectives which is to foster and develop new competitors. Starting with Clubsport Basic and moving through Clubsport Advanced, to then be able to compete at the top level in the various regional and national rally series, shows that the sport is strong and heading in the right direction. There will always be fine tuning to meet this objective, which is done under the umbrella of Motorsport New Zealand, but it is at the Club level that new talent is found and nurtured. And this is where our focus must remain, but with the added proviso that competitors are having fun doing so.

Thank you to last year’s committee particularly those standing down. Andrew, your years of service have not gone un-noticed, and yes I know we conned you back on last year but you’ve earned your retirement now! Drew, you’ve contributed significantly in many areas over the last couple of years, thank you for that. Richard, it’s hard to get off the committee I know, and your efforts organizing events and looking after the Club’s gear has been a big job so thanks for all your input. Lastly but my no means least, Stacey. Over the last two years as Club Secretary, you have had a huge work load looking after memberships, event documentation and secretarial duties. At all times these tasks have been done impeccably. In particular, taking over event documentation from David Fletcher was never going to be easy, but I would have to say you have taken this aspect to and even higher level, such that your successor has a very well documented set of procedures to follow. I know as an organizer, you took a lot of the pressure off by ensuring all the paper work was done well in advance and always presented in the event folder on the day. Many thanks.

2008 will see some personnel changes on the committee, but I have utmost faith in the ability of the Autosport Club members to step forward and continue the high standard set by previous committees. I know there are a number of events already well advanced in the planning stages. Consequently, this year will see a mix of the traditional events in both the forest and on public roads and I know there is a strong possibility of an 8 km sprint on public roads that have not been used for a few years. The main rally is well into the planning stages, however this year it’s not a round of the Rally Xtreme Series, but that’s not to say there aren’t prospects for bigger and better things in the years to come. My main request is that competitors come out to support the events since one of the most satisfying things for an organizer is to see a good turn out.

It also goes without saying that good event support helps the Club financially. From the financial report you will see that 2007 resulted in a more or less break even situation. Whilst one may argue that the Club is not here to make a profit there is the risk that is very easy to turn a break even into a significant loss. Most event expenses incurred by the Club are on the increase whilst at the same time we have maintained membership fees at current levels, for this year at least. The consequence is that the committee is looking at expenses on an event by event basis, so there may be some increases in entry fees where an event has run at a loss in the past. Rest assured this will only occur as a result of increased costs passed on to the Club.

Over more recent years the Club has invested significantly in communications equipment. This is probably the single most important aspect to the safe running of an event. The Club has taken the position that we need to be more or less self sufficient in this area. To this end during 2007 we invested in the purchase of a radio repeater which compliments the range of hand held radios bought previously. Fortunately, with the assistance of the Carlton Bar and Restaurant, a pub charity application was successful in funding most of the $10,000 required for this acquisition. Special thanks to Wayne Banard and Andrea Summerfield for coordinating this application. During 2008 further applications are to be made to further increase our radio capabilities and also to contribute to certain safety aspects of our events.

In closing I would also like to thank the rest of the committee, namely Andrea, Graham, Paul, Wayne, John and Chris, along with our marshals from the Rangiora Rotary Club and first aid services from St John and Red Cross. Also, Tony Witheridge for looking after the timing at our sprint events, Derek Simpson and Peter Quinn for start line and rescue duties, our scrutineers and all the other people who help make our events the success they are. Thank you all.

Unfortunately I won’t be at the Rakaia Sprint on the 16th of March (the Melbourne GP beckons!), but I look forward to being at an event soon and hopefully in the drivers seat. See you all then and in the meantime good luck with all your motorsport endeavours.

Thank you.

Leigh Marston
President
20 JANUARY 2008 - THIS YEAR'S INTERCLUB SERIES

 The Clubs representatives have met and the 2008 calendar has been set: 

DATE  EVENT CLUB
Sun 24th Feb Autocross – Sefton Autosport
??? Apr/May/Jun Autocross - ???

Ratec
Sat 14th June Sprints – Levels Ashburton
Sat 13th Jul Twilight Speed event Ruapuna  Canterbury
Sun 10th Aug Pursuit Sprints Ruapuna Canterbury
Sat 28th Sep Akaroa Hillclimb Ratec
Sun 26th Oct Autocross - Okuku Autosport
Sat TBA Nov Shingle Sprint Rutherfords Road Ashburton

      
07 DECEMBER 2007 - FINAL CLUB POINTS ALL CLASSES 2007

        Overall

        4WD

        1600+

        1300-1600

        0-1300

05 DECEMBER 2007 - CLUB CAPTAIN REPORT FOR 2007
Well it has been a great year for the Autosport Club and Members. There has certainly been no problems or concerns as far as my job has been concerned.

The initial Mt Thomas Spring was deferred due to forestry roads being unavailable.

The Canterbury Rally went according to plan and was well supported. This was followed by the Tarn Road Sprint. Mt Thomas Sprint followed in July. Following heavy rain and wind the previous night the Hanmer Rally went ahead as scheduled in September.

The usual Autocross’s were held and the weather was kind for them too

The year concluded with the Mt Alexander Sprint. This event finished on a disappointing note with the accident. I would like to remind members to listen at all briefings with regard to safety. I also remind people not to be complacent by being on the roads etc when a race is in progress. – I think that is enough said.

I would personally like to thank everyone in the Club who has helped in the organising of our events. Our Club works well when everyone lends a hand and helps in some way.

I must thank others for doing supporting role jobs i.e. St Johns, Rotary, Marshalls, Recovery drivers and timing personnel. Without these people we would not function as a Club.

To the Canterbury and Hanmer Rally Committee’s - well done and a thank you to Dave McCahon for his support once again for these events.

We had a Club night in July at the Carlton and I think it was enjoyed by all.

This year the Club has purchased a few more radios but importantly was the purchase of a new repeater which will aid us in all events. Thanks to Barney and Andrea for organising the Grant to make the purchase possible.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind members to come along to the prize giving / Club night on December 12th at the Carlton Hotel Cellar commencing at 7.30pm. This is the last social event with Leigh in command. Please make an effort to show your appreciation for his work over the past several years.

There will also be an AGM on Wednesday 20th February 2008. The venue will be advised at a later date. Please mark your calendars now as a new Committee will be elected on that night.

Andrea and I are to organise a family day in February for the kids and the young at heart. You will be notified of a date later in January. Please come along and support the Club.

If any members are holding trophies please return them to Leigh before 12th December.

Finally a big thank you must go to Leigh Marston for his role this year as Club President. Leigh as given many hours of leadership and support and we are truly grateful for his time.

See you all on the 12th December 2007.

Graham Wilson

Club Captain
22 FEBRUARY 2007 - PRESIDENT'S REPORT FOR 2006
Another year of motorsport has been and gone, one which I hope met the expectations of all the Club members. Whether you are out there to win or just to participate the main thing the committee tries to ensure is that you have fun. This is not always easy with the ever changing world in which we live. Whenever you think everything is under control there is always something or someone trying to disrupt proceedings. In this regard I have to once again thank the committee for the great job they did in making 2006 another successful year.

The committee put on a good mix of events and the weather did likewise. From muddy autocrosses to dust bowls, from wet and slippery Hanmer to dry and dusty Ashley Forest, we had it all during 2006. Throughout all this events went ahead largely unaffected thanks to the dedication of the organizers and helpers. Special thanks go to the Red Cross, Rangiora Rotary Club, and individuals like Derek Simpson, Tony Witheridge, Andrew Wells and many more, who although not on the committee contributed significantly over the year.

This year sees some major changes within the committee with a number of members standing down after years of superb service. I would personally like to thank Dermot Martin, David Fletcher, Andrew Sim, Kieron Telford and John Beasley, all of whom have contributed to the success of the Autosport Club. No one can deny any of them for stepping aside when you consider the contribution they have made over the years. From the Club’s point of view though it will be hard to replace 20 odd years of knowledge and experience. That will be the challenge for the incoming committee. Fortunately, due to the effort over recent years, documentation and systems have been put in place which does make the job a lot easier. Thanks to David for that.

Of particular concern in 2006 was access to Ashley Forest, however I’m pleased to say we have now established a good working relationship with Rayonier. Many thanks to Les Summerfield and Paul Stanley for achieving this. Having said that there is always something new to worry about. For those who may not be aware Rayonier own the trees and cutting rights while the land is leased from Ngai Tahu. The latter have announced their intention to sell the land claiming better returns could be achieved in other business ventures. The land is currently up for international tender with a decision due next month. There will be no obligation on the part of the new owner to continue to allow us access, so it’s a matter of wait and see. On the positive side we do have a long history of use of the forest and a good ally now in Rayonier. Fingers crossed!

During the year the Club made no significant expenditure on gear and equipment although the Club van had a new head gasket, tune up and wheel alignment so should be good for another 100,000 kms. Not bad for something with a book value of about $270. The committee decided to dispose of the Club’s photocopier which took up half of Stacey and Drew’s lounge and must have been the first one ever made. The servicing company said it was worthless and to dump it but through Stacey’s good effort it sold on Trade Me for $250.

Thanks to Stu Bufton, the timing gear is now much more reliable and with more pre-event entries this allows the event to get underway closer to designated time. One of my concerns though is at the end of an event when there is inevitably a delay getting prize giving underway. This is normally caused by a lack of manpower to pack up at the end of the event, so if you want a shorter delay you know what to do. Also, please do attend prize giving especially if it’s at a bar or hotel since invariably they are sponsoring the event.

We are already well into 2007 and the first autocross has been and gone and the next sprint is only a couple of weeks away. Just a reminder to get your membership updated before the event to avoid putting even more pressure on the organizers. All last years Club members should have received a reminder through the mail but if not download a form from the web site. And another reminder, the web site is the Club’s main form of communication and is regularly kept up to date by John Beasley. If you don’t have access to a computer contact a committee member if you need to know anything about the Club and it’s events.

Finally, thanks once again to last years committee, your hours of dedication are not taken for granted. And to all competitors, good luck for the coming season and I look forward to seeing you out doing what we are all here for.

Leigh Marston
President
14 NOVEMBER 2006 - CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP ARTICLES
Club Championship Articles: At the club's AGM in February 2006 it was resolved that the committee should formulate a set of articles governing the club championship.
These articles have been finalised and are available from the About Autosport page. Everyone who competes in the club championship is encouraged to read these articles.
 see the PDF

 
11 JULY 2006 - PRESIDENTS MID YEAR REPORT

I thought it may be worth bringing members up to date with recent happenings and explain the lack of events.

You may or may not be aware of the change in ownership of all Carter Holt Harvey forests in the Canterbury area to the international forestry group, Rayonier. Autosport has enjoyed 30 odd years of rallying in Ashley Forest under former ownership but with change comes the need for the Club to satisfy the requirements of the new owners. To this end I have spent a number of hours negotiating with Rayonier to set new guidelines to allow us to have continued access to the forest. I am pleased to say that I believe we now have a solid relationship that will stand us in good stead for the foreseeable future. To this end I would like to extend, on behalf of the Club, my thanks to the management of Rayonier locally, for going in to bat for us with their top management. Much of the credibility the Club has now is due to the professionalism and dedication of all the committee members who have been involved in organising events in Ashley, Mt Thomas and Hanmer Forests. It has been said that other users of the forests need to raise their standard to that of Autosport. With the ever increasing involvement of OSH in business and sport comes a greater responsibility for event organisers and venue owners alike. So our affiliation to Motorsport New Zealand, with its comprehensive insurance policy, strict organiser guidelines and adherence to safety plans, has allayed many of the concerns Rayonier had. There are still some matters to be finalized but I believe we can work through these in due course.

So much for the background. While all this has been going on we have missed out on two events. The first was Mt Thomas which was pulled due to logging operations, of which we had very little pre-warning. Because of the short notice we were not in a position to re-schedule another event. The second event, Tarn/Paringa Rds, as you all now know, was cancelled due to weather – the ford on the road in was over a metre deep! Because of this and the on going bad weather we have decided to run Makerikeri Rd on the 23rd July instead. This event has no access problems and the road doesn’t cut up should it rain.

While we are still running some of the familiar and popular sprint roads of the past there are moves afoot, from Rayonier and the Club, to develop 2 dedicated loop roads exclusively for Autosport use. These would be closed off areas of the forest under the Club’s control and may even be available for private testing. Early days yet but we are working with Rayonier on possible sites, both of which would need some preparation, and consequently probably not be available till next year.

The Star/Canary Furniture Rally of Canterbury 2006 is confirmed for the weekend of 2/3 September and is once again a round of Rally Xtreme and the Mainland Rally Series. It is envisaged running much to last year’s format with the same or similar roads subject to forestry activities. Further details will be released as they become available.

If you have any further queries please contact a committee member.

Leigh Marston

President

 
22 FEBRUARY 2006 - PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR 2005 - LEIGH MARSTON

It’s hard to believe that this is my third president’s report since taking over the role in 2003. Those three years have really flown and have been a mixture of frustration, hassle and hard work, but above all else, extremely satisfying and to be honest, good fun. There have been many challenges and many changes during that time and no doubt there will be many more in the future. This sport is one of continual evolution and much of this is brought about by influences outside of the Club’s control. There are the obvious rule changes from Motorsport New Zealand, stricter requirements for safety plans, greater demands from local councils regarding traffic management, increased costs for road grading, tighter control of access to the forests to name but a few.

To date the Club has coped with these demands very well but the workload for the committee has certainly increased. We have been fortunate to have such an experienced committee, with a mixture of talents, who have been able to steer the Club in the right direction. There has been the occasional committee meeting where debate gets heated but what would we achieve if members could not air their views. Throughout all this we have remained friends and I for one would not have it any other way.

During the 2005 year we ran a mix of autocrosses, forest and public road sprints, a clubman’s rally and our main rally which was part of the Rally Xtreme series. This is a total of 13 events which, if you add in monthly committee meetings, an AGM and prize giving you’ll appreciate what a dedicated bunch of people we have running the Club. The format of events last year followed very much that of 2004 and our intentions for 2006 are more of the same (although some dates are likely to change). The main reasons for this are firstly, it is easier for the committee since existing safety plans and supplementary regulations are already available, and secondly, we have received no feedback from competitors as to whether they like or dislike any particular event.

You will no doubt be aware the Club committee has deemed it prudent to insist that all competing vehicles entering our sprints are equipped with a roll cage to Schedule A (some other clubs have a road car class). This has been at the committee’s own initiative and brought about by the nature of the terrain where we run our events. Although it does not affect the majority of competitors there are some from other Club’s who are affected. Consequently, our events that form part of the Interclub Series are now restricted to autocrosses, so if you intend being part of that series you’ll need to enter the appropriate autocross.

Those who were involved in our main rally last year, whether competing, organizing or spectating, would surely agree it was an excellent event. To this end it is pleasing to know that the rally has been included as a round of Rally Xtreme again this year. Even more encouraging is the fact we can confirm Canary Furniture and The Star newspaper as naming rights sponsors again in 2006. Preliminary talks have already shown a desire from both parties to make the event a bigger spectacle with The Star taking a much more active role in the promotion of the event. This is a real credit to everyone involved and although there are far too many to mention I would like to single out Les and Andrea Summerfield along with Dave McCahon for allowing the rally to take over their lives for a few months each year.

There will be some changes to the committee this year so I would personally like thank those people who are stepping down for their effort – your contribution was truly appreciated. There is one person standing down who will be very sorely missed, so it is with a touch of sadness that I have to announce the resignation of our secretary, Simone. This morning I was endeavoring to find out how long Simone has been on the committee and the best answer I got was “more than 5 but less than 10 years”. Either way Simone’s contribution has been enormous - her knowledge of motorsport and event administration has been invaluable to the Club over the years. For all my time as president Simone has been there looking after the administration of the Club and it has really made my job so much easier. Simone, you will be really missed and I’m sure the rest of the Club joins with me in wishing you all the very best for the future. You know our events as well as anyone so hopefully we’ll see you out there some time. Thanks again.

To the rest of the committee – Dermot, David, Andrew, Les, Kieron, Richard, Josh, Stewart and Chris - thanks for everything you did last year, it was a great effort. There are two others I’d like to thank. The first is John Beasley for creating and maintaining the Club’s web site which is really striking now and a huge improvement over the old one. Secondly, Andrew Wells for finding the time to publish the occasional bulletin. Andrew is a busy man and already publishes another monthly bulletin so his offer to help out when possible is much appreciated. As you will understand from my earlier comments the committee already has a big workload so if members want a more regular bulletin then someone else will have to put their hand up.

My final thanks goes to my wife, Susan, and my mates, Josh and Nick, for their patience and understanding which allows me to be involved in something as time consuming as motorsport.

To finish off I’d like to relay an event from last week. On Wednesday morning Les and I met with representatives from Rayonier, who now own most of the forests in Canterbury and others throughout New Zealand. Also present was Paul Stanley whose company is responsible for management of the forests we use. Paul summed it up when he said to the meeting that “…other users of the forest need to aspire to the standards set by the Autosport Club”. An impartial view which reflects the effort put in by last years committee – well done people! To those standing for re-election I’m sure you’ll live up to that standard also.

All the best in motorsport for 2006.

Leigh Marston

President

 

16 JUNE 2005 - CLUB SPRINT SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP 2005
Several members have asked for clarification of what events form the sprint series this year. The events are: Rakaia Zig-Zag, Mt. Thomas, Tarn Road, Mt Grey, Kaiwara Road, Mt. Alexander. You are able to drop your worst result. Hanmer Sprint is not part of the sprint series.
 
31 MAY 2005 - CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

As decided at the AGM the committee have agreed to a set of point scales that are based on the old logarithmic scale when the points were scaled back from 40 for first place. The new points structure will award 60 points for a rally win, 40 points for a sprint win, and 30 points for an autocross win. Everyone who takes part in an event will get at least one point. The scales are as follows:

Rally: 60,54,48,44,39,35,32,29,26,23,20,18,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7, 6,5,4,3,2,1,1,1...

Sprint: 40,36,32,29,26,23,21,19,17,15,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,1...

Autocross: 30,27,24,22,20,18,16,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1,1,1...

The club points scores will be updated and published shortly.

23 FEBRUARY 2005 - ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A small turnout for the AGM discussed the finances for the year which are much clearer now that Kieron Telford has got it all sorted, there was a lively debate about the club points scheme and the committee will be looking into making it fairer for people who at present go to events but get no points, Leigh related his president's report for the year, and three new committee members were elected, Brent Sibley, Chris Hughes, and Stewart Bufton - welcome aboard!