Group hopes to revive street race

Waimate is still hoping to resurrect street racing to celebrate 50 years of a motorsport event that used to attract thousands to the South Canterbury town.

The Waimate 50, first raced in 1959, was a major event with cars, single-seaters and motorbikes racing around the town's streets, using the main street as the front straight.

It went into recess in 1966, but was revived in the 1990s, running every second year until 1999 using Timaru's Levels raceway.

An attempt was made to revive the event again in 2006, but safety and sponsorship hurdles could not be overcome.

A small group led by former Waimate Mayor David Owen is trying to get a 50th anniversary event off the ground, and should find out within a week whether it can succeed.

Mr Owen this week said the group was putting together a safety plan and trying to raise sponsorship.

"Sponsorship is pretty dry at the moment because of the economic recession," he said.

Originally the group planned a full race meeting, using some of the streets that were part of the original track. Then it considered a street sprint.

Now it is again looking at a street race.

Mr Owen said running a street race would cost about $100,000 more than a street sprint.

However, a street race would attract a bigger crowd and would be worth the effort.

If the event goes ahead, it will be held in February - the same month as the original race.

Motorsport NZ did not have a date available in February, but organisers of the Dunedin street race had been approached to see if they would make their dates available.