Close to 2000 take to Teretonga Park for George Begg Festival
Organisers hope the inaugural George Begg Festival will become the Kiwi version of the Goodwood Revival in the United Kingdom.
Close to 2000 people showed up at Teretonga Park on Saturday at the first bi-annual George Begg Festival race meeting.
Motorsport and a retro entertainment offering combined to form the first Geroge Begg Festival which organisers hope over time will develop into another marquee event for Invercargill such as the Burt Munro Challenge and Bluff Oyster Festival.
Pre-sales of tickets to the racing was about 1915 and gate sales for Saturday sat at around 300 tickets.
The event kicked off on Thursday (with the George Begg Long Lunch, and the Begg’s Barmy Rally) and will run until Sunday. Racing kicked off on Friday with a practice and qualifying day.
Kiwi motorsport greats, past and present, including Greg Murphy, Paul Radisich, David Oxton, Barry Keen and Jim Murdoch have been all on hand for the three-day festival of classic racing in Invercargill.
Classes include HVRA, VCC, Historic Touring Cars, Pre-1978 Saloons, Ford invitational, and Porsche invitational, amongst others; commentator Donald McDonald – known as "the Voice of Teretonga", courtesy of his 25-year stint in the box at the southernmost FIA-recognised race circuit in the world – is at the helm behind the microphone.
Hosted by Transport World and TW Events & Incentives, organisers hope the inaugural George Begg Festival will become the Kiwi version of the Goodwood Revival in the United Kingdom.
The event celebrates the achievements of the late George Begg: the Drummond-based motorcyclist turned engineer who decided to give building race cars a crack after reading a ‘how-to’ book.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Begg built a total of 18 race vehicles from his workshop in the Central Southland town; his cars competed against some of the biggest names in motorsport and cemented his place in the history books.
TW Events & Incentives commercial events manager Marie Kolasinski says the team is thrilled at the support the concept has received from both locals and out-of-towners.
While the classic racing remains a huge draw, organisers hope that the off-track entertainment will appeal to a broad cross-section of the public.
Attendees are encouraged to dress up in clothing from the 1960s and 1970s. Off-track offerings include a retro beauty parlour (with hair and makeup provided by the team from Halcyon, and manicures from Ted&Co), live performances from The Beatgirls and the Invercargill rock and roll dancing club, a Kids Zone, classic car displays, and a variety of local food and beverage vendors.
"We know motorsport events and race meets are incredibly popular here in Southland, and throughout New Zealand, and we are really excited so many people have come out to get behind the George Begg Festival concept," she says. "It is a bit different to your typical race meet in the sense that the off-track offering is as much of a draw as the racing itself, and we’re really pleased to be helping celebrate what makes motorsport so entertaining with so many people."
"There are a lot of smiling Southland faces around. It’s brilliant.”