"There is much to celebrate about New Zealand motorsport at present with the strength of our national race and rally categories and the many successes of our competitors internationally, as well as challenges for our clubs in terms of membership numbers and volunteers. Together with our CEO Brian Budd and the MSNZ team, we have plenty to work on. I'm looking forward to getting on with the job."
With MSNZ board member Janet Phipps standing down this year, Aucklander Gordon Legge joins Christie, Bennett, Auckland's Deborah Day and Dunedin's Norm Oakley to focus on the overall strategy and direction of the organisation, and planning for the sport's future and its finances.
Among the many topics covered during MSNZ's 69th annual general meeting were statistics which shows New Zealand motorsport is in good heart. CEO Brian Budd's report showed more than 4,800 people hold competition licences, i.e. are active motorsport competitors.
Mr Budd notes: "Over 700 events were granted a MSNZ permit in 2015 - that's an average of more than 13 events per weekend across the year. These events attracted more than 22,400 participants - and that's just the competitors - if you count the hundreds of volunteers, officials and media also involved, obviously the numbers are considerably higher."