| What an absolute honour it is to be writing to you all this month in my new capacity as President and Chair of the Board of The Australian Racing Drivers Club, having been elected to the role at the club’s Annual General Meeting in May. And what big racing shoes to fill after Andrew Leithhead’s outstanding 14-year leadership at the helm. I’m pleased to advise that although Andrew has chosen to step down as President, he has agreed to remain on the board and has taken on the role as Deputy Vice President. Andrew’s tenure as President has overseen so many significant developments at our home at Sydney Motorsport Park, including the Brabham expansion of the track, installation of circuit wide LED lighting, the creation of the Australian Motorsport Innovation Precinct, and presiding over a continuance of multiple events and programs. Our ARDC membership base has quadrupled over this time too. I am sure you’ll all agree he’s done an incredible job, and we thank him for all his hard work, dedication, and leadership. Congratulations to Jamie McDonald who was elected at the AGM as our new Vice President! I’m very much looking forward to working alongside Jamie as Vice President, Andrew as Deputy Vice President, my fellow ARDC Directors, Glenn Matthews our CEO and his amazing team, our officials, volunteers, partners and Members. I hope that as a motorsport enthusiast and competitor on both two- and four-wheels, combined with my six years on the ARDC Board, and my long long-standing business and board career, that I can continue to shape the Club’s future. Fuelled of course by the ideas, enthusiasm, passion and assistance of our Members! Together I believe we can continue the Club’s 70 years history of best-in-class Australian Motorsport stewardship, circuit management and presentation, hosting exhilarating events and experiences, and passionate ARDC Member representation. Each month I hope to be able to continue to bring you exciting news and updates of this important and exciting journey. As for the AGM itself, it was terrific to receive the yearly report from Glenn Matthews (ARDC CEO). Glenn provided a terrific outline of the ARDC’s current financial position (particularly coming out of COVID); the continued growth and stability of the ARDC Membership; the exciting racing calendar ahead at SMSP; the important work we are doing around sustainability, and the continued progress of the Stage One building of the Australian Motorsport Innovation Precinct (AMIP). As its opening is now only weeks away, I’m excited to be able to share more news in next month’s newsletter about our AMIP’s grand opening, our foundation tenants, and future plans. We hope you will join us at the track through June for the HSRCA Sydney Classic 2023, the Shannons Trophy Series, or perhaps the St. George Motorcycle Club’s 2023 Endurance Series. I look forward to seeing and meeting many of you at some of our other key events coming up this year including Word Time Attack, the TCR Championship, Masterblast ’23 and the Beaurepaires Sydney Supernight 28-30 July! The ARDC marketing team will be updating everyone about Member access and arrangements to the Supercars event in the coming weeks. In the meantime, don’t forget to put the ARDC’s MasterBlast ’23 event featuring the Muscle Car Masters in your diaries for September!Happy Racing, Natalie. president@ardc.com.au  Pictured from left: Andrew Leithhead, Jamie McDonald, Natalie Turmine and Glenn Matthews at the recent 71st ARDC Annual General Meeting, May 2023. ___________________________________________________________________ Farewell, and thanks. This month’s President’s Message has a new author… and this month’s newsletter contains my last annual report as ARDC President! At the Annual General Meeting on 24th May I advised that I would not be re-nominating for the position of ARDC President. I have been incredibly privileged to lead our Club for 14 years and together with our Board, CEO, staff team, volunteers and Members, we have achieved some big things since 2009. However, it is time for me to step down and make way for new blood and new thinking. Renewal is very important in all organisations, and I am glad that the Board has elected Natalie Turmine as our new President and Jamie McDonald as Vice President. While I will remain on the Board and have accepted the role of Deputy Vice President, Nat and Jamie are now driving! The ARDC of 2023 is the result of the cumulative effort of many people over more than 70 years. I am very conscious that whatever has been achieved during my tenure as President has been built on the foundations provided by my predecessors. I also want to recognise that it has only been possible for me to serve as President with the ongoing support, encouragement and honest feedback of the ARDC Members. I’m excited to see how the Club progresses under new leadership and I’m looking forward to having some extra time to spend on the track! As I said earlier, it has been a great privilege. Thanks, Andrew. 2023 ARDC AGM Report ___________________________________________________________________  MEMBER ACCESS AT SUPERCARS We know you’ve been waiting for this one! In a few more days the ARDC should have our offering for Members finalised; we are confident of General Admission (GA) tickets for Members and Guests, as per the last few years and with thanks to Supercars… but are investigating options for Members to upgrade to Grandstand or Park’N’View (or both). Stay tuned! _________________________________________________________________________ LAST CHANCE TO GRAB YOUR FREE TICKETS! Australian Motor Heritage Foundation Presents: Bondy ‘Mr Versatile’ Fireside Chat Our friends over at the AMHF are starting their fireside chats with a bang, hosting Mr Versatile himself on the 23rd of June at 10am at SMSP in the Hinxman Room! Call us or check your Member News in your inbox to claim your free ticket!  ___________________________________________________________________  VIVID DRONE SHOW OPERATORS FEATURING AT MASTERBLAST ’23 Did you see the drone show at Vivid this year? It was SPECTACULAR! (watch it HERE). Well, Skyworx Drone Shows will be back at this year’s Masterblast, taking to the SMSP sky with 500 drones on the Saturday night! You won’t want to miss it! Along with our Car- and Bike-themed Drone Show at around 7pm, we also have Tuned International on the SMSP main straight, the brand new Sydney Hillclimb takes on the Amaroo South Circuit, and Drifting with Driving Sports on the Figure 8. Why not grab a Park’N’View spot to watch it all from the comfort of your car, or camp overnight and see the show from your home-away-from-home? Both are FREE FOR ARDC MEMBERS! TICKETS LAUNCHING SOON. Save the weekend of September 9-10, 2023 for all the metal and muscle, displays and drone shows; a great two-days for any car enthusiast! SYDNEYMASTERBLAST.COM Sponsorship opportunities in a variety of forms and activations are now available! For enquiries, please contact Peter Larum at peter@ardc.com.au or 0419 732 029. __________________________________________________________________________  The Great Race: ARDC Born and Bred – Exclusive Premier Suite Have you booked your place yet? We have! And a good thing too, as these places are SOLD OUT on the Supercars site! The ARDC has booked a Premier Pit Suite at the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000 and is offering Members an exclusive opportunity to join us. The ARDC’s suite is positioned at pit exit with a balcony and views of the main straight and turn one. The experience includes access to the event, an air-conditioned suite with TV’s so you won’t miss a second of the action, full catering for all three days, beverage package, a goodies bag on arrival, and much more to come! All for $2000pp inc GST. We are so excited to share this limited Anniversary experience with our Members: Packages are available to book NOW by emailing the ARDC.See you trackside at The Great Race!   Nightshift for Cars will be back in May, with a combined Beginner/Intermediate group joining Race Cars. Grab a mate, give us a call for your discount code and come enjoy SMSP under lights! Don’t forget, you can use one or both of your 50% Discounts on Nightshift events! When: Wednesday 28th June Groups: Beginner/IntermediateRace Cars NIGHTSHIFT FOR CARS TICKETS Remember, ARDC Members are always entitled to a full refund. So book now and if we need to postpone, we can rebook or refund you! To get your 50% Members discount, email reception@ardc.com.au, or give us a call at 9672 1000. Follow the link above to our ticket page and book now! |
 KEY EVENTS IN JUNE Fri 2nd – Sunday 4th Fastrack and Supercar Drive Members receive a 10% discount! Fastrack Website. Sat 10th – Sun 11th HSCRA Summer Classic Free entry for ARDC Members and Guests. Show your card at the gate. Wed 14th Open Pit Lane Track Day Places available – Click Here. Fri 16th – Sun 18th Shannons Nationals Trophy Series Free entry for ARDC Members and Guests. Show your card at the gate. Fri 30th ARDC Private Practice – Test & Tune Enter here. ___________________________________________________________________ NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS  MOTOSCHOOL IS GO!We are excited to announce a new bike track school provider, Motoschool! Their first event at SMSP is this month, Friday Night Lights, is an evening event on the Amaroo South Circuit and starts at $249. Entry includes: MOTOSCHOOL Team T-Shirt Full rider safety briefing, professional course control & track marshalling Four track riding sessions under lights (approx 20 minutes per session) Graded coaching groups – based on skill & ability, catering to all Riders, all bikes, all levels Four classroom rider coaching sessions covering a multitude of motorcycle skills & fundamentals 4k Rider Video shadowing & review using the latest technology Check out motoschool.com.au or go straight to the event info/ticketing link page HERE.  |