Trolley racing a winner on Coast

Trolley Derby teams from around the Hibiscus Coast showed they have what it takes to make it in what is fast becoming a very competitive sport in this country.

Last weekend both local and national Derby races, organised by Whangaparaoa Rotary, were held on a fast course down Brightside Rd in Stanmore Bay.

It takes less than 40 seconds to race a trolley down the course at some 55–60kph.

The timekeepers, all Rotary volunteers, have their work cut out for them, as the winners are generally only 100ths of a second faster than their rivals.

Despite the closeness of the racing, there were only two crashes and both drivers walked away unharmed. Whangaparaoa College took the prize for ‘most spectacular crash’ after driver Joe Mellor lost control and mounted a bollard at high speed. While Joe was not injured, the trolley was “munted”, putting paid to the College’s hopes of a top eight placing.

The derby also included demonstration races by master class trolleys, hot rods and go-karts, sideshows and food stalls. A dragster powered by alcohol with a top speed of 372kph was also fired up, deafening but also intriguing the crowd.

After an exciting day’s racing on Saturday, supported by a large crowd of onlookers, six Hibiscus Coast teams (representing Wainui School, Orewa College and Stella Maris) went forward to the final.

Top ranked Riverhead (last year’s winners) and Waitakere Primary were the teams to beat and, after Sunday’s fiercely fought, back-to-back races these two teams were in the top four together with Yasmin Pena of Orewa College and Marcos Monguzzi of Stella Maris.

Good sportsmanship, which is a feature of the derby, was demonstrated by the fact that Marcos raced in a trolley assembled from parts donated to Stella Maris by three local teams.

Both Yasmin and Marcos turned in fast times in the final with Marcos taking fourth place and Yasmin coming a very close second – just 0.30 of a second behind the winner.

Both Yasmin and Marcos say that the key is taking the best line down the course.

“Time goes really fast, when you’re driving the trolley, but at the same time you notice every second because you are concentrating so hard,” Marcos says. “You concentrate so hard, you can hear your heart beating.”

First prize is the chance to represent NZ in Ohio. NZ has a proud record in the international division of this race, winning six times in the nine years it’s been involved.

Organisers say the Brightside course, believed to be the fastest in the North Island, received the thumbs up from competitors and the Coast may well host the nationals again next year.

Results

National: 1 Waitakere Primary, Aaron Kinge; 2 Orewa College, Yasmin Pena; 3 Riverhead, John Tulloch; 4 Stella Maris, Marcos Monguzzi
Hibiscus Coast: 1 Stella Maris, Jacob Byrne; 2 Orewa College, Yasmin Pena; 3 Stella Maris, Marcos Monguzzi; Most Impressive Team, Red Beach School


Trolley Derby Bonza Raffle Results
Congratulations to all winners. 1st Ticket No: 4762, 2nd 4057, 3rd 2964
10 x $100 voucher prizes - tickets: 4778, 1202, 4158, 1828, 5142, 4921, 2761, 2569, 4053, 1019.