The country’s final state awards evening has taken place in New South Wales, with the CAMS NSW/ACT State Awards presented by Burson Auto Parts ending with a bang.
Along with the number of drivers receiving their silverware for their championship winning years, the night also recognised individuals for their contributions to the sport both on and off the track.
While a the regular CAMS awards were handed out to deserving winners, the event also celebrated four NSW/ACT specific award winners for their representation of the state.
Among the awards handed out, the Kevin Bartlett Award was awarded to the most outstanding circuit driver in 2018.
After another dominate year in the HQ Holdens category, three-time champion Brett Osborn was named winner of the award, after scoring an impressive 744 points out of a possible 750.
For the most outstanding achievement by a female competitor in 2018, Corinne East-Johnston was given the Coral Taylor award after winning both the NSW and Australian Motorkhana Championships in what was a dominant year for the driver.
The Judith Rae Award is offered to the best administrator for 2018 and this went to Wollongong Sporting Car Club president Joanne Bell.
Bell has been a member of the club more than 30 years competing in a number of disciplines, while dedicating a lot of time and effort to run successful club events and promote women in motor sport.
The final individual NSW accolade to be announced was the Colin Bond award, which was introduced in 2014 to recognise competitive success and versatility in NSW or ACT.
CAMS Australian Rally Championship driver Harry Bates was named as the 2018 Colin Bond winner after a solid season in the ARC, which saw the Toyota Yaris driver win two rounds outright, pick up 43 stage wins and win two class in the NSSCC Twilight Rallysprints outside of the ARC.
The evening’s sole CAMS Service Award was given to David Kidd for providing continuous service as an official for more than 40 years.
During this time, Kidd has travelled the world, bringing back a wealth of knowledge and new ideas to implement back in Australian motor sport.
Taking home the top prize for the stars of tomorrow, the evening’s youngest award winner was Heather Brumby, the tarmac rally driver picking up the Burson Future Star Award.
Brumby’s entry in the 2018 Targa Tasmania made her the youngest competitor in the competition’s long and illustrious history, while her strong performances in a variety of tarmac rallysprints made her a great ambassador for the category,
With a number of high quality events taking place in New South Wales, including the 2018 Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300, the State Event for 2018 of the Year was awarded to the Light Car Club of Canberra’s Monaro Stages.
The event, which acts as the MTA NSW Rally Championship’s season finale, has quickly cemented itself as a must attend event due to the professionalism of the event’s organisers, as well as the challenge the stages themselves offer to competitors.
Taking out the final award for the evening, the NSW/ACT Castrol Official of the Year was Matthew Halpin, his roles as scrutineer, track inspector and member on a number of panels making him a deserved winner of the award.
It was a busy year for Halpin, who performed stewarding roles at national and international evenings such as the Shannons Nationals, Supercars and Muscle Car Masters.
The awards season’s final event for the year takes place in Victoria for the CAMS National Awards Gala Dinner on Saturday 23, February.
Click here to purchase tickets to the Gala Dinner.