Kaitangata Black Gold Bob Scott Memorial Hill Climb 2010 - 31/01/2010

MEDIA RELEASE
31 JANUARY 2010

McCROSTIE RETAINS KAITANGATA HILLCLIMB TITLE

Defending champion Duncan McCrostie of Kaitangata retained his title when he won the Kaitangata Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb at Whites Road, City Forests in Kaitangata on Saturday 30th January 2010.

McCrostie consistently set the fastest times throughout the day, his best coming in the penultimate run when he set a new record for the hill with a time of 51.72 seconds for the 1.2 kilometre gravel hillclimb. Although he could not improve on his final run his earlier time was good enough to ensure him of his second consecutive Kaitangata Hillclimb title.

McCrostie was very pleased with his second victory at his home event. Of his best time he said, "that one came from nowhere. I pushed too hard on the last run and it got messy and ugly. I got on the grass a few times."

It was McCrosties first gravel event since his win at Kaitangata in October 2008. "Last time we were here the car was thrown together and it wasn't tuned right. For this event we have fixed the rear diff and that has tidied the handling." The car was certainly effective as McCrostie charged up the hill to beat his own record

Outram driver Glenn Frew was runner-up in the event, the same position he filled last time the hillclimb was held. Frew's best time came on his last run with a 52.49.

Laird Motorsport Southern Rally Series Champion Dean Bond of Balclutha was third in 53.12 while Andrew Graves and Derek Ayson tied for fourth place on 54.59. Ayson of Clinton was at the wheel of a relatively standard car owned by fellow competitor, Steve Morris. Graves of Gore struck problems in his final run as he tried to wrest back the title he took in 2007.

McCrostie held sway at the top of the timesheets throughout the day but behind him Bond, Frew, Graves and Ayson had a great battle.

Mike Wellington and Craig Molloy of Dunedin, Paul Beattie from Cromwell, Brian Scott of Dunedin, a son of Bob Scott who the hillclimb pays tribute to, and Phil Winter also of Dunedin completed the top ten. Winter's tenth placing blocked a total domination of the top ten by Mitsubishi EVOs.

Arthur Jelley of Waipahi put in an impressive performance in his first competitive outing in 35 years. The last time he competed was in a V6 Ford Anglia, a far cry from the Mitsubishi EVO he drove on Saturday. It was his first competition drive in a 4-wheel-drive but he took the car up the hill in an impressive 59.59 seconds on his last run.

The class battles produced some epic duels.

McCrostie, Frew and Bond took the podium positions in Class D for 4-wheel-drive vehicles by virtue of their overall times.

Mosgiel driver Chris Hey won Class C for 2-wheel-drive vehicles of 1601cc & over with a time of 56.81 in his impressive turbocharged Toyota MR2, good enough for 12th overall. Behind him there was a classic battle between Neville Kidd of Cromwell in a Ford Escort, Warner Reid of Balclutha in another turbocharged MR2 and Murray Marshall of Kaitangata in his Nissan Bluebird Turbo. Going into the final run Kidd was second with Reid third but the final 1.2 kilometre climb featured a huge shake up in the order. Reid dipped under the minute mark to record a 59.34, good enough for second. Former Otago driver Matt Hayward, now based in Tauranga, also went under the minute elevating his EVO powered Mitsubishi Celeste into third with a time of 59.54 while Kidd also went under 60 seconds but his time of 59.93 could only secure fourth place ahead of Marshall.

Paul Goatley of Balclutha won Class B for 2-wheel-drive cars from 1301-1600cc in a time of 59.64 seconds. Goatley set the Class B record for the hill when he broke the 1 minute barrier on his third run, lowering the time still further on the last climb. Meanwhile behind him Hadley MacKay of Arrowtown in a Citroen Saxo and Phill Terry of Wrights Bush in a Toyota Trueno had a great tussle with MacKay breaking the 1 minute mark on his final attempt to take second with Terry third.

Invercargill's David Robertson took the Class A title for cars of 0-1300cc in his Suzuki powered Hillman Imp. Robertson and Kevin Laird of Gore had exchanged fastest times all day long but Robertson produced a very quick time of 62.45 seconds on his final run. Laird was then relegated to third when his father Roger Laird dropped his previous best time by almost 3 seconds on the final run in the car he shared with Kevin and his wife Karen.

Dunedin driver, Robert Scott, another of Bob Scott's sons, won the Sports Car Class in his CAE Special in a time of 63.14 seconds ahead of his brother Gregory in the Scott Special.

All three of Scott's sons not only competed in the event but also supported it through their respective businesses.

The event was the opening round of the two-round Southern Twin Peaks Challenge Series that concludes with the Bluff Promotions Bay View Hotel/Pub Charity Bluff "where the journey begins"
Sealed Hillclimb next Saturday. McCrostie has won the Twin Peaks title in the first two years it has been held and has also won the last two events at Bluff.

The Kaitangata event is held at the scene of several Gold Star national hill-climbs in the 1960s and 70s. The hillclimb pays tribute to the late Bob Scott, a former Mayor Of Kaitangata and a successful motor sport competitor and businessman. Those who competed against Scott remember him fondly. Amongst his motorsport achievements were three South Island Grass Track titles and the Kaitangata Hillclimb title in 1967. He also owned Scott's Garage in the town during the 1960's and 70's.

The Kaitangata Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb is a partnership between the Kaitangata & Districts Community Development Programme and the Eastern Southland Car Club.

Lindsay Beer
on behalf of the Eastern Southland Car Club
021 351 499

Kaitangata Black Gold Bob Scott Memorial Hill Climb 2010 - 11/01/2010

SOUTHERN TWIN PEAKS CHALLENGE

The Southern Twin Peaks Challenge, contested at the two major southern hillclimbs at Kaitangata and Bluff each year, will feature plenty of extra excitement in 2010.

The challenge was instigated in the 2007/2008 motorsport season when the historic hillclimb at Kaitangata was revived. The Kaitangata event joined forces with another hillclimb, the Bluff Hillclimb which had been developed in 2006 - the two events combining to find an overall champion - the Southern Twin Peaks Champion. The champion is the competitor who records the fastest total elapsed times in their fastest run at each event.

The two previous titles have seen the two events run several months apart but in 2010 the two hillclimbs will be held on subsequent weekends adding plenty of excitement and anticipation to the battle for the title.

This year the Kaitangata Black Gold Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb will take place on Saturday 30 January while the Bluff Promotions Bay View Hotel/Pub Charity Bluff "where the journey begins" Sealed Hillclimb is scheduled for Saturday 6 February.

To date only one person, Duncan McCrostie of Kaitangata, has been crowned the Twin Peaks champ. McCrostie is always to the fore in his ex Emma Gilmour Mitsubishi EVO. In the inaugural series he finished second to Andrew Graves of Gore in his home event at Kaitangata before winning at Bluff to take the title. Last year McCrostie won both events to retain his title.

While McCrostie has taken the title both times the series has been hard fought with both events that constitute the series featuring close and exciting battles. Many topline drivers have been lured south to contest the hillclimbs and with both now only seven days apart the series may appeal to even more drivers.

The Kaitangata Black Gold Bob Scott Memorial Hillclimb is a joint promotion between the Kaitangata Development Programme and the Eastern Southland Car Club. The hillclimb uses a gravel road while the Bluff event utilises the sealed road to the summit of Bluff Hill (Motu Pohue). The road climbs to a height of 264 metres above sea level. Recent tree felling in the area has opened up plenty of great viewing opportunities. The event is a joint project between Bluff Promotions assisted by the Eastern Southland Car Club and the Southland Sports Car Club.

Lindsay Beer
Media Liaison Southern Twin Peaks Challenge
021 351 499

OVERALL CHAMPIONS

SOUTHERN TWIN PEAKS CHALLENGE
2007/2008 - Duncan McCrostie
2008/2009 - Duncan McCrostie

KAITANGATA
2007 - Andrew Graves
2008 - Duncan McCrostie

BAY VIEW HOTEL / PUB CHARITY BLUFF "where the journey begins" SEALED HILLCLIMB
1.6km course
2006 - Ross MacKay (Ashburton) Mitsubishi EVO - 1 minute 03.403 seconds
2007 - Glen Frew (Outram) Mitsubishi EVO - 59.895 seconds
2008 - Duncan McCrostie (Kaitangata) Mitsubishi EVO - 59.188 seconds
1.8km course
2009 - Duncan McCrostie (Kaitangata) Mitsubishi EVO - 1 minute .00.733 seconds

Kaitangata BLACK GOLD TRAIL RESULTS-14.11.09 & 13.12.09 - 13/12/2009

Kaitangata Black Gold Trail Downhill -13.12.09-Results available in Downloads section.

Kaitangata Black Gold Trail Results 14th November 2009 available in Downloads section

To order photos for Kaitangata Black Gold Trail -14.11.09 -go to Links.

Trust Power Clutha District Community Awards 2009 - 21/09/2009

KAITANGATA BLACK GOLD continues to raise the bar and move forward by winning the Sport and Leisure category at the Trust Power Clutha District Community Awards 2009

The Awards were announced and presented on Monday 21 September at a function at the Rosebank Lodge in Balclutha.
Organisations were nominated in five different categories and individual civic awards were also presented.

Sport and Leisure:

Winner: Kaitangata and Districts Community Inc.

The events organised by the Kaitangata & Districts Community Inc are really raising the profile of this community, not only locally, but on a national and even international level.

The Bob Scott Memorial Hill Climb rally sprint is so popular that entries increased from 45 in 2007 to 61 last year. A huge voluntary effort is needed to run this event, including road development and preparation and marshals on the day.

The Black Gold BMX track was largely built by volunteers, with many hours invested in planning, preparation and working bees. The official opening of the track was enjoyed by 500 people, and the facility has been well utilised since.

The Black Gold Trail Event is a mountain bike cross country race and cross country run. The event was first launched as solely a Mountain bike event in 2007, and included 37 competitors in the downhill, and 102 competitors in the cross country! The event was so successful that in 2008 it was expanded to include a cross country run, and due to the demand, the downhill section was moved to a separate date and is now a standalone event.

The volunteer hours needed to get these events off the ground are astounding. Thirty volunteers are required on the day, and then there is approximately 200 hours spent in the planning stages, including course development, preparation and maintenance. Approximately 270 hours are invested by marshals on the day, and many hours are dedicated by the South Otago wood turners club to make the trophies.

This year’s event has already had a registration of a team of ten from Sydney. This year’s trail has been expanded to include both bike sections, a half marathon, and a duathlon. It sounds like a brilliant event, so mark 14th November in your diary!

Kaitangata Black Gold Summer Wine Interview - 16/09/2009

Members of the Kaitangata Black Gold Summer Wine group were recently interviewed on Radio NZ Sounds Historical Programme.
This programme  aired on Sunday the 20th of September .

Dancing With Our Stars - 18/05/2009

Source: Otago Daily Times
Dancing with our stars

By Glenn Conway on Mon, 18 May 2009


Clutha's stars shone brightly on Saturday night as they tangoed, waltzed and line-danced their way into the hearts of a full house that officially launched the district's week for women in glitzy style.
The Dancing with Our Stars event, Clutha-style, had all the pizzazz and glamour of its television counterpart and a crowd of more than 350 loved every minute of it.
Ten local celebrities have spent the past few weeks rehearsing their moves with dance tutors, and those combinations took to the floor, as Jason Gunn would say, to show off all they had learnt.
Not only did they receive a warm welcome, all 10 pairs collected thousands of dollars for their nominated charities.
The evening had a star-quality feel to it with dancers Candy Lane and Jonny Williams, from the television series, Dancing with the Stars, performing two demonstration dances, one at the start and one at the end of the night.
The dance celebrities had little, if any, dancing experience before the show.
The pool of talent ranged from Clutha Mayor Juno Hayes and his deputy, Hamish Anderson, to former Otago rugby forward Richard Knight, a local pharmacist, youth worker, and a bank manager.
Those taking part were: Project Clutha chairwoman Sarah Andrew and Kevin Polaschek (rock 'n' roll), Clutha deputy mayor Hamish Anderson and the Big River Line Dancers (line dancing), Balclutha community constable Tom Taylor and Monique Elleboode (ceroc), Balclutha pharmacist Ngaire Taylor and Robyn Gardner (Showtime jazz), Kaitangata and Districts Promotions co-ordinator Jean Proctor and Grant Vicary (rock 'n' roll), Clutha Mayor Juno Hayes and Rachel Ferguson (waltz), youth worker Daniel Maze and crew (hip hop), clerk Trudy Cochrane and John Stanway (ceroc), former rugby player Richard Knight and Rachel Ferguson (tango) and bank manager Cindy Holmes and Lorraine Mclean (tap dancing).