Editorial: Sprints put Bay in fast lane

Photo / Andrew Warner

It surprises some people to learn I am a fan of motorsports. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was a petrol head. I am more at home with bubbles in the corporate box at the Grand Prix than at Meremere chowing down sausages with ZZ Top lookalikes.

Whether you prefer the glamour or the pits, the thrills and spills of motor action can be a great day. Even better if you don't have to travel far. Yesterday's Bay of Plenty Times reported the V8 Jet Sprints will run again at ASB Baypark.

I attended this year's event with family and friends and some 15,000 people. In a world first for an enclosed outdoor sports stadium, the organisers had taken a leap of faith converting the rugby pitch into a water-filled circuit. It paid off. The atmosphere was electrifying, with the crowd rising to crashes or high speed recoveries around hairpin bends.

When I told a colleague it was the one of the best days out in Tauranga, he said: "Really, I didn't know you were a bogan."

Part of the buzz was soaking up the summer mood with everyone from families to Ford singlets, elderly couples with Thermos and ham sandwiches, corporates, lads and girls too.

As Jet Sprints Bay of Plenty's Pip Minnell said: "The city was divided into two groups ... those who went to the jet sprints and those who wished they went."

It has not been without its naysayers, some with concerns about the impact on rugby.

But as sports writer Peter White has commented, Baypark is the "reluctant home" of the Bay of Plenty Steamers but has proved a good fit for motorsports.

The jetsprints brought a flood of visitors, boosting the local economy. Expansion to two days will maximise benefits.

In the queue for chips (the wait a minor downside), a guy enthused about "how bloody brilliant" it was: "To hell with the rugby, let's have this every weekend."

While we might not be ready for that frequency, an annual event for three years is a great commercial opportunity for both tourism and the local community. Queenstown, Taupo, Rotorua and even Palmerston North have crowd-luring big events. It is fantastic that Tauranga has managed to hold on to this winner.