With yet another one of his popular novelty Lemons 24 Hour endurance events, this weekend’s 3-Day ‘NurBurgerRing 24 hour’ race at Hampton Downs, fully subscribed, Auckland-based motorsport event promotor Dr. Jacob Simonsen says that he has got absolutely no time for the ‘Keyboard Warriors’ of Social Media ‘trying to tell me that this or that is wrong with the sport at the moment.’
“Seriously, Dr. Simonsen said last night, ‘If I was just a casual fan of the sport reliant on Social Media for my basic information, I’d be cowering under a rock somewhere, wating with Chicken Little, for the sky to fall in.
“Yet here I am, two days out from hosting one of, if not THE biggest meetings the Hampton Downs National circuit has seen so far this year, with more than 60 themed cars and well over 200 drivers all keen & eager to take part.’
“Other categories might well be suffering from declining grids, dwindling competitor numbers and even cancelled events. Not us though. We’re thriving. In fact, I’d go as far as saying that this weekend’s 3-day 24 hour ‘NurBurgerRing’ Lemons endurance event is testament to the flourishing grass-roots scene we helped seed here in New Zealand.
“To race in a NaZCAR or Lemons event, you can simply buy a cheap car, add a bunch of safety gear and you’re IN… The barriers to entry have been stripped away – you could literally turn up on the day of an event and be competing in a matter of minutes!”
“Cheap, Fun, Easy, Safe – isn’t that what motorsport SHOULD be about?”
As a bona fide Lemons 24-Hour event every car and team of drivers entered has to adhere to a particular theme, wherein a lot of the plain, simple old concept of ‘fun’ lies.
As well as plenty of diversity amongst the massed ranks of drivers (men, women, teens, families, colleagues, and from all walks of life’) this weekend also sees the debut of an all-female squad, set up with the specific purpose of taking their male counterparts on at their own game!
There will be action on track at the Hampton Downs national circuit on all three days with documentation and scrutineering on Friday morning before a compulsory drivers’ briefing at 11.30am then a brief practise/driver orientation session and usual pre-start gathering of the entire entry on the dummy grid at 1.30pm for the compulsory before team photo , then official start of the 2023 ‘NurBurgerRing 24-hour race.
Racing is then paused at approx. 5.00pm to be resumed on Saturday morning at 8.00am and again paused at 5.00pm before the final run to the flag on Sunday morning, again from 8.00am until approx.4.00pm.
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