Driving
Paengaroa’s George Crawford has stepped up from an entr y level racing class in speedway for teenagers into one of the sport ’ s premiere classes.
Ageing out of the class during winter, the 17-year-old has gone
$13,995 inc GST starting from
straight into the high powered super saloon class – one of the premiere classes of dirt track racing in New Zealand.
So far he has looked anything but a rookie. That’s perhaps not surprising
– he’s been competing on dirt track ovals since he was 10 years old. What is a surprise, though, is the class he chose to graduate to.
For many years, the full contact super stock class was where he saw his
future. That, however, changed, almost in the blink of an eye earlier this year at Perth Motorplex in Australia.
Read more about Crawford’s passion for the sport on page 3.
Photo / Stuart Whitaker
Te Puke NEWS
Claus
Tomorrow, December 6, is the day Santa comes to town.
The Seeka Te Puke Christmas Float Parade will leave its gathering point behind the Te Puke Memorial Hall at 11am, led by the Te Puke and District Highland Pipe Band
The EPIC Te Puke organised event has a Steam Punk and Vintage theme
EPIC Te Puke’s Sally Benning said close to 30 entrants had registered for the parade, slightly up on the numbers last year
Traditionally, the seat next to Santa is reser ved for someone deser ving of the honour – this year Blayde Arnold will be the jolly red man ’ s sidekick
The four-year old, who featured in Te Puke News last month, was born with
Emanuel Syndrome, an extremely rare chromosomal disorder It disrupts normal development and affects many parts of the body Infants with Emanuel Syndrome have weak muscle tone, are slow to gain weight and their development is significantly delayed.
Parents Marissa Mason and Scott Arnold will sit with Blayde in Santa’s sleigh Parade organisers reached out to mum Marissa to ask if he would like to sit with Santa Mason said when they asked, she burst into tears “I’d spoken about wanting to be known in our community and how that was one of my goals, and that just made it all feel real and just so kind as well ”
Last month, a special fundraising event, Blayde’s World, raised $13,000 to go towards the preschooler’s ongoing care. Western Bay of Plenty District deputy mayor Margaret Murray-Benge will be part of the parade, riding in a rare 1927 Oakland Roadster car owned by Aaron Moore. Road closures will be in place for the parade. At the end of the parade there will be a Steamed Punk Christmas market in Jubilee Park, with the parade’s prize winners announced and trophies presented on the stage at 12.30pm.
The market will feature stalls and food trucks with plenty of opportunities to grab something to eat and do a little Christmas shopping.
Stuar t Whitaker
Blayde Arnold will have the honour of sitting next to Santa in the Seeka Te Puke Christmas Float Parade. Photo / Supplied
This rare 1927 Oakland Roadster will transport Western Bay of Plenty deputy mayor Margaret Murray-Benge in the Seeka Te Puke Christmas Float Parade. Photo / Supplied
Speedway teen powers into super saloon class
Paengaroa’s George Crawford has taken a significant increase in horsepower in his stride.
The speedway driver has stepped up from an entry level racing class for teenagers into one of the sport ’ s premiere classes.
Up to the end of last season, George competed in the 12-16 year olds’ youth ministock class, a non-contact class of cars powered by 1200cc motors.
Ageing out of the class during winter, he’s gone straight into the high powered super saloon class – one of the premiere classes of dirt track racing in New Zealand
So far he has looked anything but a rookie. That’s perhaps not surprising – he’s been competing on dirt track ovals since he was 10 years old.
A surprise
What is a surprise, though, is the class he chose to graduate to
For many years, the full contact super stock class was where he saw his future
That, however, changed, almost in the blink of an eye earlier this year at Perth Motorplex in Australia.
George was a member of a team of young Kiwi drivers taking on their Australian counterparts. The test races were on the programme for the Australian Late Model Championship meeting. Late models are a similar class to super saloons.
He was in awe of one driver, who was to be crowned Australian champion that night.
“Just watching Kye Blight in lapped traffic and then having a 10-second advantage with 20 laps to go was pretty impressive,” George said
During winter the family bought the CB2 super saloon raced last season by former New Zealand champion, Tauranga’s Steve Cowling built by Cowling Motorsport.
“ We got in touch with Maurice Cowling and dad [ Wayne Crawford] asked if we could take the car to Waharoa [speedway] for a track day and I loved it,” George said
Power and grip
He said the main differences are in the power and the grip of the car but the driving style isn’t that much of a change. The smooth driving needed in the ministock is also what’s required to pilot the super saloon.
Pre-race set up, though, is ver y different.
“There so much more that you can change in the set-up, especially in the back end, to do with the diff and the stagger [the differential between the size of the left and right rear tyres],” George said.
Also ver y different is the size of the car which is much longer and wider than a ministock George is registered to the Meeanee track
in Napier, par tly because that is the venue for Ne w Ze title meeting this season; and par tly because it has a st field of ministocks, the class young brother Jimmy Crawford still races
It means there should be more opportunities to attend meetings as a family with both George and Jimmy racing at the same place on the same night
After two practices, George’s first outing of the season was a Friday night meeting in Napier, where, in his first ever super saloon feature race he finished fifth.
His second was Baypark Family Speedway’s opening night in October where he came close to beating 2NZ Chris Cowling in one of the heat races and finished second in the feature race, won by Chris Cowling.
“After opening night at Baypark, a lot of people came up to us, including people we don’t really know, to say how well they thought George had gone, ” said Wayne Favourite track
After many meetings in the ministock at Baypark, George said it was cool to drive the super saloon there. “It’s my favourite track so far, it’s wicked, it’s full speed, you are hardly lifting off.”
Since then he’d raced at Kihikihi Speedway and in a two-day meeting at Woodford Glen Speedway north of Christchurch, where he qualified for the feature race on both nights among stacked fields.
He also raced at Waikaraka Speedway’s season opener last weekend.
George’s goal for the season was to qualify for feature races at every meeting – something he’d achieved so far, and he admits to have surprised himself a little with how well things have gone
“I thought I’d be getting lapped at the start, but after the first couple of practices I thought, I’m not actually getting that.
“Coming into the season I just thought I’d like to go good
and I think I’ve exceeded that goal.”
Tomorrow, December 6, he will be back at Baypark for one of the track’s biggest nights of the season, the South Pacific Super Saloon Championship, with a field of more than 20 cars
“I can ’ t wait to get back there,” George said.
Racing starts 6.30pm, with sprint cars, F2 midgets and super stocks also on the programme
Stuar t Whitaker
ealand rong
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n George Crawford, 1 17, h has made an impressive start to his first season in the super saloon class. Photos / Supplied
George Crawford on track at Baypark Speedway’s opening meeting
Gordon Street
Make magical m em ories with friends and whānau as yo u explore b eautiful light displays brin gin g o ur community to life ever y evenin g Have a wander, feel th e Christmas spirit com e alive, and enjoy a seasonal adventure that brin gs joy to all ages. Visit bit .ly/b owerchristmaslights or scan th e QR co de b elow for th e addres s list, and don’t forget to vote for yo ur favo urite prop er ty !
New tsunami inundation maps for the Western Bay
New tsunami inundation maps are now available for the Western Bay of Plenty District.
The maps, which were identified in a report by GNS Science – now known as Earth Sciences New Zealand – help with understanding the risk to land and buildings by showing where water could reach if a tsunami occurred.
Differ from zones
While similar, they differ to tsunami evacuation zones, which show where people should go to stay safe.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council are updating the natural hazards maps for the district
This is because of the Resource Management Act and Bay of Plenty Regional Policy Statement, which have requirements relating to how councils manage natural hazard risks.
As the mapping of each hazard is completed, landowners are notified and the information is put on council’s website, property files and in any Land Information Memoranda (LIMs) requested for properties Council also uses the maps when processing resource consents, project information memoranda and building consents, to ensure that the risk from natural hazards to people and buildings is assessed.
Improves understanding
Western Bay of Plenty District Council acting general manager strategy and community Emily Watton said this new
information “improves our understanding of the risks that tsunamis could create and how the district’s coastlines and low-lying areas may be affected if such an event were to occur ”
“Improving the accuracy of hazard maps, like these, is more critical than ever due to the increasing legislative requirements around natural hazard management, the need to reduce risk, and ensuring preparedness and response to potential disasters,” Watton said
The new tsunami inundation maps are included on council’s online natural hazards maps at: www.westernbay.govt.nz/propertyrates-and-building/natural-hazards
Two scenarios
The maps showed the area of land that could potentially be flooded by a tsunami caused by the following two scenarios.
A rare offshore ear thquake that has a wave height ranging between 8m and 15m along the Bay of Plenty coast The second scenario is a 5m high tsunami caused by a rare offshore ear thquake Affected proper ties have either one, or both, of these tsunami events mapped
For most of the district, this is the first time that tsunami inundation has been mapped. However, for Maketū, Little Waihi and Pukehina, these new maps will replace older maps from 2017, and in some cases properties are no longer identified.
For a copy of the technical report by GNS Science and more information about tsunamis, how they are mapped and how this may affect the use of a property, visit: www.westernbay.govt.nz/propertyrates-and-building/natural-hazards
Fire extinguishers and an escape route are vital!
As at December 1 we have responded to 299 calls for the calendar year to date
Thankfully, call numbers have levelled off since the madness of the previous fortnight and we have had just four calls during the last two weeks, including two false alarms.
One was a motor vehicle crash and the other a medical call was for us to assist St John Ambulance with a patient lift. Last week the brigade members completed our annual fire extinguisher training
This is always serious but fun at the same time because it is interactive and practical.
It is advisable to have fire extinguishers in the following areas: cooking areas, work environments, caravans, boats and your home.
Only use a fire extinguisher if you are confident in using one correctly. Check the fire before you begin to extinguish, because you need to check the size and the location of the fire – it needs to be smaller than a small rubbish bin.
Ensure ever y person is accounted for and has evacuated the building.
Always have a safe and clear escape route planned, before you begin to extinguish the fire.
To use a fire extinguisher, remember the PASS acronym: Pull the pin: twist and pull the pin to
break the seal and release the locking mechanism.
Aim low: point the nozzle or hose at the base of the fire, not at the flames themselves. Most extinguishers are designed to be operated from about two metres away
Squeeze the lever: press the top lever down slowly and evenly to discharge the extinguishing agent.
Sweep the nozzle: move the nozzle back and forth from side to side at the base of the fire until it appears to be out
There are numerous videos on YouTube that can be helpful. Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page at: https://www facebook.com/Te.Puke.Fire.Brigade
Dale Lindsay, Chief Fire Officer, Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade
A Te Puke volunteer Fire Brigade member recently had their annual fire extinguisher training Photo / Supplied
The complete kiwifruit lifestyle package
Set on 9 3065ha, this impressive property offers both quality living and productive kiwifruit income The orchard includes 3 04 canopy hectares of G3 and 1.33 canopy hectares of Hayward, with additional circa 3 hectares of bare land ready for further development or diversification The beautifully renovated family home features four bedrooms two living areas a brand-new kitchen double glazing multiple heating options and new decking for seamless indoor-outdoor flow A heated, self-cleaning pool, spa and changing rooms provide resort-style outdoor living Secure double garaging and approximately 275sqm of high-quality, lockable shedding - ideal for machinery, storage or workshop use A complete lifestyle and orchard package offering comfort, income and future potential Opportunities of this calibre are seldom available All measurements and sizes are approximate bayleys co nz/2504610
Paengaroa, 99 Maungarangi Road