Waimate 50

Introduction

Waimate has a proud history with motor racing on the streets with the inaugural ‘Waimate 50’ being held in 1959 (when Bruce McLaren won) through to 1966. Racing “around the houses” ceased with the opening of Levels Raceway in Timaru but returned to the town on 14 February 1981.

In 1991 the street race was brought back to life again by a dedicated team willing to challenge the odds of regulations and cost of running such an historic event. The first race was so successful with crowds in excess of 15,000 attending the weekend that it was decided to continue the event every second year until 1999 when the rules changed and the costs escalated to a point where again the 'Waimate 50' had to go into recession.

Over the years since the last event held a still very dedicated team thrashing out the issues of rebuilding the track to comply with the new regulations and searching for the funds and community support required to run the next modern 'Waimate 50'.

A New Era

Ushering in a new era a few 'Waimate 50' members are prepared to bring about a new approach with fresh thoughts to achieving the goal of once again holding this iconic event that captures the motoring attention of New Zealand. A small steering group was formed and has struck on an initiative that again put Waimate on the map for hosting a significant motorsport event - The McKeown Petroleum Waimate 50 GT Series.