Nelson Trolley Derby Results

The South Canterbury Finance Nelson Trolley Derby was raced in perfect conditions, drawing crowds of spectators to Collingwood Street throughout the day on Saturday.

Sam Laidlaw regained the title of Bunnings Monarch of the Hill, clocked by Nelson Police at 68 km/h, but failed to break the record of 70km/h set by Tim Bayley in 2007. This year Tim Bailey was second at 67 km/h.

Sam raced a new trolley, sponsored by Village Cycles, and said he had gone for more height to improve the aerodynamics, and had used better wheels than on his earlier trolleys.

Two years of effort had gone into many trolleys after last year’s racing was wiped out by rain, and the overall standard of the vehicles was high, complemented by the 10 entries from business houses in the new SCF Corporate Challenge. This was won by Greg Dyer of Port Nelson, second place went to Gary Mead of SCF Tasman and third to Al Bowers of Hamish Fletcher Lawyers.

Home grown ingenuity was not forgotten, with Nelson Intermediate School taking the new Britten Award for the most imaginative design built with maximum child input; and five year old James Fleet in Batman 09 winning the Blueberry IT award for Backyard Brilliance.

The team from WHK West Yates won the Stylemeister Award for their look-alike Thomas the Tank engine, with driver and pit crew dressed thematically. The Spirit of the Derby Award went to Francis Lagrutta with his Novus Lie-down Canoe.

The Nippers’ race (under 6) was won by Kobi Furniss; Zoomers (7-10 years) went to Ronan Stilwell; and Sprinters (11-14 years) was taken by Liam King Turner.

South Canterbury Finance Tasman Regional General Manager Gene Cooper said it was a fantastic day of family participation.

“The emphasis on children taking part in the event is linked for us with the cause of the Child Cancer Foundation,” he said. “The great support for the Corporate Challenge and for the Running of the Balls gives us a fun way to raise money that stays in the Nelson region to assist with child cancer.”

The Trolley Derby is part of Summer in Nelson, produced by the Nelson City Council as a visitor attraction and a celebration for locals. Full details of the results are available at www.derby.co.nz

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