Motorsport: Passion pays off for veteran

HISTORY: This mini was the car that Alan Strong first won the Northland Car Club Aggregate Trophy in the 1983/84 season.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

It has been 30 years since Whangarei's Alan Strong first won the Northland Car Club's trophy for the most accumulated points in a season. Now, into his 60s, the gentle speaking driver has felt that winning feeling again after competing in all 18 events last season.

Strong remembers when he first won the Northland Car Club Whangarei Engineering Aggregate Trophy, winning it in the 1983/84 season and holding onto it again the following season. While Strong took some time away from the sport around 1990, he has been back at it and keen for the past year or so - resulting in his recent win.

"I sort of stopped competing in 1990, stopped doing hill climbs then last year got back into it. I never had any intention of winning [the aggregate trophy], I just wanted to win my class [which he did also]," Strong said.

"By doing every event I guess you slowly get points and it's the first time anyone has done it in a two-wheel drive car."

He reinforced that what makes this season's win special was claiming it with his two-wheel drive Nissan, seeing as most of the time the big trophies are won by four-wheel drivers.

HISTORY: This mini was the car that Alan Strong first won the Northland Car Club Aggregate Trophy in the 1983/84 season.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

"You take a bit of pride in it, especially with my age and the car I was in," Strong continued.

"I never ever expected to win [the aggregate title] again, I just wanted to buy another car and have some fun. Another thing I'm quite proud of being in my 60s and winning it when it's normally won by someone in their 30s ... with our sport it doesn't matter what age you are no matter if you're 16 or 60."

For Strong, winning the top prize for the Northland Car Club puts the shoe on the other foot so to speak.

Usually Strong frequents the Advocate offices looking to get information out to the community on upcoming Northland Car Club events, however, this time Strong was the story himself. Adding to his aggregate trophy win, Strong picked up the titles for fastest saloon and points accumulated in hill climbs 1601-2000cc cars.

In a family twist to the final standings for Northland Car Club trophies, Strong's son-in-law Steve Hart finished runner-up in the overall points aggregate while Tony Smitheram was third.

Also picking up awards was Strong's daughter Val Hart who claimed the ladies' aggregate ahead of Susan and Tania Smitheram - wife and daughter to Tony. Val was also named ladies' hill climb champion and finished second in the ladies motorkhana - beaten this time by Susan Smitheram.

While Strong was proud of his achievements last season, he was quick to remind readers the next event was just over a week away - being a two-wheel drive rallysprint in Glenbervie Forrest on September 7, starting from the Kauri end.

The Glenbervie rallysprint would not be a points gatherer for the season, instead satisfying keen drivers who wanted a specific two-wheel drive race.

The first points gathering event for the Northland Car Club is the quarter-mile sprint at Ruakaka a week after the Glenbervie rallysprint.