Gabe Newell’s International Race Team ‘The Heart Of Racing’ Begins NZ Journey Ahead Of Race 1

Sept. 10, 2020. Invercargil, SI. – NEW ZEALAND - The Heart of Racing, an international motorsports team created by Gabe Newell to raise funds for paediatric hospitals, has established a team in New Zealand to support the Starship Foundation and this weekend they go racing.
 

The team will begin its debut season in New Zealand at the first round of the South Island Endurance Series this Friday and Saturday at Teretonga Park in Invercargill. A week later, The Heart of Racing will be at Hampton Downs to compete in the first round of the Golden Homes North Island Endurance Series on September 18th.

“The race track is really cool” says Alex Riberas, “it is a very old school race track which I feel Darren and I will really enjoy. One particular characteristic of Teretonga is that there is very little room for mistakes, with not a lot of run off areas. So being precise and mistake free during the race, will be the key element.”
 

"The track is something different to what we are used to” says co-driver Darren Kelly, “there is a very fast turn one and into a technical mid-section, so it is crucial to be smooth and consistent, as well as having a good exit from the final turn, with the front straight being so long, you could lose a lot of time. I am super excited to get out there to do some laps.”
 

The series will host a hotly contested 1 hour and 3 hour race on Saturday that will test Kelly’s navigation skills and race craft against slower traffic in his racing debut amongst a field of NZ’s top iconic circuit racers.

While Riberas has raced with the team previously, Kelly is the newest addition to The Heart of Racing family. The team sponsored Kelly’s most recent season of drift driving in D1NZ, the National Drifting Championship in New Zealand, where he was the reigning champion of the series. The pair will be competing in both the North and South Island endurance series for the 2020 season.

“The Heart of Racing program really resonates with me and I feel lucky to begin my career in endurance racing with this team. As a Kiwi who spent a lot of time at Starship as a child, I am so excited to race for these kids,” says Kelly.

American businessman Gabe Newell created The Heart of Racing in Seattle, Washington in 2014 with two simple goals: raise as much money as possible for children’s hospitals and have fun while doing so. To date, millions of dollars have been raised for the leading paediatric care programs around the world.

“I am delighted to bring The Heart of Racing to New Zealand. The country has shown us so much kindness and we feel lucky to be working with the Starship Foundation,” says Newell, co-founder of Valve Software.

The Heart of Racing’s website (www.theheartofracing.co.nz) has a link to their fundraising page where you can contribute towards the Starship National Children’s Intensive Care Unit. The team has set up incentives where contributors will receive rewards for their donations like signed merchandise and handwritten notes from Kelly and Riberas

The team looks forward to this weekends race, The South Island Endurance Series at Teretonga Park Raceway, September 11-12, 2020.

Quoteboard:

Alex Riberas:
“The race track is really cool” says Alex Riberas, “it is a very old school race track which I feel Darren and I will really enjoy. One particular characteristic of Teretonga is that there is very little room for mistakes, with not a lot of run off areas. So being precise and mistake free during the race, will be the key element.”

Darren Kelly:
“The Heart of Racing program really resonates with me and I feel lucky to begin my career in endurance racing with this team. As a Kiwi who spent a lot of time at Starship as a child, I am so excited to race for these kids,” says Kelly.

Gabe Newell:
“I am delighted to bring The Heart of Racing to New Zealand. The country has shown us so much kindness and we feel lucky to be working with the Starship Foundation,” says Newell, co-founder of Valve Software.