A team of racing die-hards from the Valley (and a few out-of-town ring-ins) have just clocked second place in the biggest motorsport race you've never heard of.
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"Welcome to 24 Hours of LeMons - the biggest and cheapest motorsport event on the planet," the official tagline reads. "Australian endurance racing for $999 cars. It's a breeding ground for inflated egos and God-like status ... in their own minds. It's where Mercedes and Mazda, Toyota and Hyundai do battle for the glory of gloating rights. All are winners if they make it to the end."
Team Beemer's Reg Vesperman, Ron and Chris Grimshaw, Darren Kennedy, Matt Fox and Jeff Senior have just come home from Goulburn - their third time squeezing a lemon around the Wakefield Park track.
"I bought a new car a few years back and it was time to get rid of the old one - I saw this 24 Hours of Lemons thing and asked Reg if he thought we should give it a go," Ron said.
The first year's result was nothing to write home about.
"But we all came home with smiles on our faces - after that first year everyone was hooked. And it's a great social thing - we all come out here to the garage beforehand to do a working bee on the car and talk shit. I get as much of a buzz now watching my son, Chris, get into it as I do driving," he said.
But it's not just about a weekend for the boys, it's a great way to raise some much-needed funds for research into prostate cancer. And with more women getting in on the action, they've also started donating to breast cancer research too.
The $680 registration fee from each driver gets donated to these causes after expenses are taken out.
There's nobody that hasn't been affected by these two insidious diseases, so to support research into them is a privilege.
- Reg Vesperman
And none of it would be possible if not for the help of some local businesses that help them get there each year (and tow the remains back).
Bridgestone, Repco and Betta Value Motors at Nambucca, Tewinga Tilt Trays, Prickle Patch Signs, Smart Fuels and Shire Clutch and Brake have all put their stamp on the Mighty Beemer, which has done well over 300,000 Ks and is still purring.
"It's just raced for two days straight and it went really well. It can be like a dodgem track there with some of the drivers, but there's not a mark on it," Reg said. "We're all recovering at the moment, but what a weekend!"
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Mel Leigh Dee
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
Mel is a journalist at the Guardian News and is based in Macksville.
