Have your say on motorsport celebrations
MotorSport New Zealand has started planning celebrations to mark its 75th anniversary in 2022 and is calling for ideas from clubs on how to mark the occasion.
Wayne Christie, president, says the subject was discussed at its latest board meeting and motorsport organisations and participants are now being encouraged to have their say.
“We want to recognise the heritage and success of our sport so we encourage clubs and classes to start thinking about what they may want to do around this special year and to start feeding those thoughts back to [acting chief executive officer] Elton Goonan.”
New appointment
Motorsport NZ has appointed James Dicey, pictured, to the board for a three-year term, after he was selected from nine nominations for a vacant position.
The board is made up of four elected members and two appointed ones. A vacancy for an appointed board member arose in August when David Taylor’s term ended.
Dicey's appointment was ratified at the recent meeting and he brings business and governance knowledge to the role as well as a keen interest in motorsport.
As an active competitor, Dicey is a member of the South Island Formula Ford Club and manages its eSport series.
His professional work experience includes time as a chartered accountant and a lawyer. He also has international experience in IT consulting, project management and strategic planning for large companies.
Dicey is currently the managing director and viticulturist of Grape Vision Limited and Ceres Wines Limited.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the development of motorsport in New Zealand,” he says.
“I have enjoyed the sport as a competitor for the last decade and look forward to being able to give something to the sport, leveraging the business and particularly governance experience I have gained.”
Christie says he is delighted to have someone of Dicey’s calibre join the board.
“James’ experience in delivering largescale projects, particularly in the IT area will be incredibly valuable for MotorSport New Zealand,” he explains. “His work in both the accounting, finance and legal sectors will also be of great benefit to the organisation.”
Board matters
Other key discussion items and decisions made at the November board meeting included.
• An application from the stewards’ department requesting the appointment of Blair Thorpe, Christchurch, to be appointed a steward was approved.
• The board recognised the work of the Clubsport commission in providing a platform within the hillclimb championship for the new cross cars class to compete. Members also praised clubs that have run these events or have opened their events for this new class of vehicle to compete in. The board says “this is another evolution of our sport as we continue to grow”.
• Officials training continues to progress. The scrutineers training program is complete and two successful courses have been run. Competitor relations officer (CRO) and clerk of the course training programs are being developed, with CRO courses set to begin in December.
• MotorSport NZ's technical department has continued to work closely with the NZTA and the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA) on a number of matters. It has received approval to issue authority cards for FIA homologated rally cars. This includes all Rally2 (R5) and Rally4 (R2) cars. The technical department continues to work on a number of other areas with these government departments.
• MotorSport NZ holds a current public liability insurance policy which any member club can access for any damage that occurs to venue infrastructure caused by a competition vehicle(s) crash whilst running a permitted event. This policy currently has an excess value of $3,500. As part of the continued review of the current rules contained within the MotorSport Manual, the board will be making an amendment to NSC 15 – Insurance, which will clarify the understanding of liability and recovery of the excess payment.
