Liam MacDonald wins 10th Southland Sports Car Club champions trophy
Liam MacDonald of Invercargill was awarded the Southland Sports Car Club Champions Trophy for the tenth time at the club’s 2022/2023 prizegiving at Teretonga Park on Monday night.
MacDonald won his first Club Championship in 2013 and since then has won it every year apart from 2017.
In the recently completed season MacDonald won the Keith McFadzien Trophy for the Motorkhana Championship from Andrew Kennedy and Craig Allan and the SSCC Speed Trophy for winning the Sprint Championship. He won the Stresscrete 1601cc & over Speed Trophy in ClubSport and took the Warren Robbie Memorial Trophy for winning the overall ClubSport Championship. In the Race Championship he was runner-up in the 2501cc & over class, third in the Flying Farewell Championship and was runner-up in the overall Race Championship, results that gave him his tenth Club Championship.
Josh Cooper of Invercargill was the runner-up in the Club Championship after a strong ClubSport campaign finishing runner-up in the Sprint Championship, winning the Discount Tyres 0-1600cc Speed Trophy and taking third overall in the overall ClubSport Championship behind MacDonald and Allan. Cooper debuted in the race championship at the Classic SpeedFest in February and in just three race meetings accumulated enough points to finish runner-up in the 1301-1600cc class.
Caption: Ten-time Southland Sports Car Club Champion Liam MacDonald with the trophies that he won during the 2022/2023 season including his tenth Club Championship Trophy. Photo: Vanessa Adcock
The Cooper family enjoyed more success when Josh’s mother, Cindy Cooper, won the Ladies Trophy for the second year in succession after another successful season that saw her finish fifth in the Sprint Championship, seventh in the Motorkhana Championship and sixth overall in the Club Championship.
Jordan Michels dominated the Race Championship awards winning the Noel McIntyre Trophy for the overall Race Championship for the second year in succession from MacDonald and Harry Wilson. He also won the Erskine Flying Farewell Championship Trophy and the Auto Centre Trophy for the 2501cc & over Race Class. Other class winners in the Race Championship were Warren Kett who took the Maxis Projects Ltd Trophy for the 1601-2500cc class, Dayne McIlwrick of Winton, the Nebulite Windows & Doors Trophy for the 1301-1600cc class and Todd Blackmun, the Turntru Machining Trophy in the 0-1300cc Championship, the seventh time he has achieved the feat.
Gordy Johnston won the Macks Panel & Paint Trophy for the Marshall Of The Year while Nate Mackay was awarded the Ladies Committee Trophy for Junior Driver of the Year and Nieko Scoles the Maxis Projects Ltd Trophy for Novice Driver of the Year.
The club also acknowledged the efforts of Alex Crosbie in taking back-to-back New Zealand Formula Ford Championships with an Outstanding Achievement Award and Joshua La Rosa with a Special Recognition Award for winning the Drift South Development Series. Crosbie was also a recipient of the Peter McMillan Legacy Fund that is managed by Perpetual Guardian.
SOUTHLAND SPORTS CAR CLUB INC
PRIZE GIVING 2022/2023
CLUBSPORT AWARDS
MOTORKHANA CHAMPION Keith McFadzien Trophy
1st Liam MacDonald
2nd Andrew Kennedy
3rd Craig Allan
SPRINT CHAMPION SSCC Speed Trophy
1st Liam MacDonald
2nd Josh Cooper
3rd Craig Allan
DISCOUNT TYRES 0 – 1600cc SPEED TROPHY
1st Josh Cooper
STRESSCRETE 1601cc & OVER SPEED TROPHY
1st Liam MacDonald
CLUBSPORT CHAMPION Warren Robbie Memorial Trophy
1st Liam MacDonald (997.23)
2nd Craig Allan (977.58)
3rd Josh Cooper (974.04)
RACE AWARDS
RACE CLASSES
0-1300cc Turntru Machining Trophy
1st Todd Blackmun
2nd
3rd
1301-1600cc Nebulite Windows & Doors Trophy
1st Dayne McIlwrick
2nd Josh Cooper
3rd Stuart Black
1601-2500cc Maxis Projects Ltd Trophy
1st Warren Kett
2nd Wayne Elliott
3rd Dave McLean
2501cc & over Auto Centre Trophy
1st Jordan Michels
2nd Liam MacDonald
3rd Harry Wilson
FLYING FAREWELL CHAMPION Erskine Flying Farewell Trophy
1st Jordan Michels
2nd Kieran Roberts
3rd Liam MacDonald
NOVICE DRIVER Maxis Projects Ltd Trophy
Nieko Scoles
JUNIOR DRIVER Ladies Committee Trophy
Nate Mackay
LADIES CHAMPION SSCC Club Championship Ladies Trophy
Cindy Cooper
RACE CHAMPION Noel McIntyre Trophy
1st Jordan Michels
2nd Liam MacDonald
3rd Harry Wilson
RUNNER UP – CLUB CHAMPION SSCC Club Champion Runner Up Trophy
Josh Cooper
SSCC CLUB CHAMPION SSCC Club Champions Trophy
Liam MacDonald
MARSHALL OF THE YEAR Macks Panel & Paint Trophy
Gordy Johnstone
Recognition Awards
Alex Crosbie Outstanding Achievement for Back-to-back NZ Formula Ford Championship titles.
Joshua La Rosa Winner Drift South Development Series
