Waimate has a proud history with motor racing on the streets with the inaugural ‘Waimate 50’ being held in 1959 (when Bruce McLaren won) through to 1966. Racing “around the houses” ceased with the opening of Levels Raceway in Timaru but returned to the town on 14 February 1981.
In 1991 the street race was brought back to life again and was a great success with crowds in excess of 15,000 attending. The event was then run every 2 years until 1999 when unfortunately the rules changed and the costs escalated to a point where again the Waimate 50 had to go onto recession.
A small steering group was formed and struck upon an initiative that will again put Waimate on the map for hosting this significant historical event.
Over the weekend of 23/24 October 2010 Waimate 50 Motorsport Inc is running the multi-event Waimate 50 GT Sprint Series. The event comprises of a 4km Hillclimb (Saturday 23rd October) and a 5.6km Rallysprint (Sunday 24th October), both on absolutely fantastic shingle roads and a sealed Street Sprint/Race (Sunday 24th October).
Our interested entry list is growing with Keith & Mary-Anne Callinan having already organised the mighty Monaro to be here.
Please visit our website for further detail - http://www.waimate50.co.nz
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