6 January 2000, Paradise Valley Raceway, Rotorua
Newsletter No: 2
Well,
Welcome to the New Millennium. I trust you all had a Merry Christmas and an even better New Year.
The NLW Racing Team traveled to Rotorua's Paradise Valley Raceway on Monday the 4th of January 2000.
We arrived in Rotorua to be greeted by a gloriously sunny, hot day. We tried our hands at a hedge maze, taking 30 minutes to reach the middle. A lot of fun was had on the way!?! We then ventured out to Hell's Gate, a thermal area on the road to Whakatane. It was interesting, but we didn't think it was worth the $10 per adult admission charge.
Anyway, on to racing. Paradise Valley were hosting the North Island Modified Champs. Unfortunately the previous nights racing had been postponed, due to bad weather, so this meant that the race programme for Monday night was actually Sunday nights programme and this meant that the Ltd Saloons had a stand down. In other words we went all the way to Rotorua for nothing!!! Luckily for us another Ltd Saloon turned up, as well. The clerk of the course allowed us to race with the Production Saloons (4 & 6 Cylinder production cars).
We started in front of the Production Saloons, but were actually a lap behind them. By this stage the weather was turning sour again, with regular brief showers making the track very slippery.
Our first race turned out to be a cracker. I WON THE FIRST RACE!!! Man, was I stoked!!!
Photo Courtesy of Lance Hunter.
Barry had a go in the second race, and finished second, beaten only by the other Ltd Saloon. Our third race was called off due to the weather.
In summary, it was a fantastic feeling to win the very first race I had in the new millennium. Hopefully it is a good omen for the rest of this season.
Best wishes to you all and, once again, I can never say it enough, thank you for your support in allowing me to enjoy the sport I love so much, SPEEDWAY!!!
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