Kiwi stars come together to support local business with online charity race

Some of New Zealand’s biggest names in motorsport have come together to help support small business who are struggling during the COVID-19 economic downturn. The online series dubbed ‘Racing Local’ will host weekly events on iRacing and is the brainchild of former F1 racer Brendon Hartley, Porsche ace Chris Van Der Drift, former TRS category managers Barrie and Louise Thomlinson and speedway star Christian Hermansen.

“Most of us started out as young competitors supported by our Mums and Dads and other local businesses as sponsors” said Van. Der Drift.

“Many of us are still supported by local business and its important that try to give back as much as we can during this tough time.

“Personally, I will be racing for my local cafe and I encourage other entrants to think about how they can best support their local businesses.”

They now want to give back to those small businesses who have not only supported them but support many other local community and sporting groups. To do this they have partnered with SOS Business who will distribute the funds raised through entry fees, sponsorship and donations from the public.

60 racers will compete each week, each contributing a minimum of $20 towards SOS Business each week. A Give-a-little page has also been created for anyone who wishes to contribute to the fundraising effort. Before racing is even underway, $4,000 has been raised and entries have closed due to high demand.

Of those 60 racers, will some of the biggest names in New Zealand motorsport including Brendon Hartley, Chris Van Der Drift, Christian Hermansen, Scott McLaughlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Greg Murphy, Earl Bamber, Mitch Evans, Simon Evans, Andre Heimgartner, Tom Blomqvist, Hayden Paddon, Liam Lawson, Madeline Stewart, Hayden Guptill, Sam Waddell, Marcus Armstrong, Nick Cassidy, Reid Harker, Brendon Leitch, and Jaxon Evans.

The series, supported by Giltrap Group, started Friday night at 7:00pm will be live-streamed online with commentary from the Supercar’s Greg Rust and D1NZ’s Steve Daniel. For more info on Racing Local, check out their Facebook page.