News
It’s a GO! Invercargill City Council have given the green light after a resource consent hearing on Wednesday, Burt Munro Challenge chairman Wayne Affleck said he was relieved to be able to “get on with the job”.
It was “difficult to judge” how much the street racing alone would be worth to the city, but the challenge as a whole had pumped more than $1 million into the city’s economy in the past, the street races were sure to boost that figure he said.
“The street races bring in a lot of people from out of town,” Affleck said.
“This year [the street races] are much closer in proximity [to the other rallies], so a lot of people might decide to stay an extra night in Invercargill so they can come along.”
More than 20,000 spectators attended the Burt Munro Challenge last year, with at least 1500 of those coming from out of town, he said.
Only about 3000 of those went to the street races in Wyndham, but the committee’s “conservative estimate” was that at least 5000 would turn out at the new-look circuit this year, Affleck said.
Street race convenor Garry Jamieson said the aim was to create a “carnival atmosphere” and attract families.
The support from the community had been “overwhelming” and several organisations had already expressed interest in setting up marquees, curtain-sider trucks and trailers as viewing platforms, he said.
“We’re expecting the crowd to be much more transient than in the past because it’s so close to the city,” he said.
“We want to see mum, dad and the grandparents bringing the kids along, and because we have so much community support we keep the price down to $15 for adult and have kids come in for free.
“That’s probably been the greatest source of pride for us since we’ve been doing this – how many families come along.”
For Event info
Official Burt Munro website
