MotorSport New Zealand appoints new Competitions Manager

MotorSport New Zealand has appointed Elton Goonan as the organisation’s Competitions Manager.

The Competitions Manager is a new role within the small MotorSport NZ team, and expands the regulatory and administrative responsibilities previously covered by the Sporting Manager. Among other tasks, the Competitions Manager is tasked with helping MotorSport NZ’s 100 member clubs manage and deliver outstanding motorsport events, continuing the development and delivery of training for officials and volunteers, and assisting event organisers and internal teams such as the Circuit Safety Department with practical on-event risk management processes.

“Elton Goonan is known and respected by many within our sport,” says MotorSport NZ CEO Brian Budd. “He brings a strong understanding of how the sport operates and excellent communications skills, so we’re very pleased to welcome Elton to the MotorSport NZ team.”

Mr Goonan brings considerable expertise and experience as a motorsport administrator, event organiser and competitor to his new role. Most recently he worked for Hampton Downs Motorsport Park as their Track Manager.

“Prior to that,” says Goonan, “I spent five years as General Manager at Formula Challenge Racing based at Taupo Motorsport Park providing ride and drive race car experiences and driver training programmes for company fleets. I joined Formula Challenge after spending 15 years in Europe where I raced, rallied in various classes and worked within the motorsport world doing everything from corporate host and instructing through to event management Europe-wide and track managing in Sweden.”

“The team at MotorSport House are a small but very passionate team who love the sport so when the opportunity came up to join them and become involved with helping guide the sport into the future it was something that I couldn’t turn down,” Goonan says.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have spent over 20 years in the sport that I love so with my years spent in Europe, along with my time at Hampton Downs giving me the ability to have multiple touch points with the sport, it has given me a good understand for the sport as it sits now from all sides. It puts me in a great position to be able to bring new ideas and direction to the sport and help drive it forward with a fresh perspective on things. The role has a wide base and allows me to be involved with many aspects of the sport, but my initial focus is to be there to help support the clubs with their events and making sure that what we are doing as a sport nationally is sustainable not only from a financial point of view but also from a competitor perspective as well.”

Goonan replaces Sporting Manager Bill Bawn, who moved from Wellington, stepping down from the role he held for more than ten years. This created the opportunity for the role of Sporting Manager to be updated and expanded to better reflect MotorSport NZ’s future management requirements.

MotorSport NZ is the governing body of four-wheeled motor sports in New Zealand and is a member of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the worldwide motorsport organisation. More information is available on www.motorsport.org.nz.

Media release: Kate Gordon-Smith for MotorSport NZ