I am sure most readers are motorsport fans – I was reminded just how deep and rich the tapestry of New Zealand motorsport runs over the last week – both in person and via the media.

The highlight must be the opportunity given to Liam Lawson to get behind the wheel of the Alpha Tauri F1 car twice (at the time I am writing this) at Spa and Monza and likely get at least two more GPs, he has acquitted himself well to date. Mark Baker looks at this a bit more in our motorsport sevction.

At the weekend I packed the camera gear, laced on the hiking boots and headed out to TECT Park (near Tauranga) to photograph the fifth round of the ORANZ off-road racing series for our sister magazine NZ4WD. They have a very well-made short track there, that offers some great spectator (and photographer) opportunities. The off-road racing machinery is incredibly varied from the Junior Kiwi Trucks, through some basic buggies to the high-end top of the range buggies, not to mention the UTV’s. Fun to watch with some excitement including a couple of roll-overs, lots of cars getting considerable airtime and some great sounds and racing – see more in motorsport pages.

Whilst track racing and rallying hog most of the limelight there is so much more. Think drifting, drag racing, speedway, stockcars, karts, motorkhanas, hill climbs, autocross, trials, 4WD winch challenges, 4WD trials and much more.

Each type of motorsport has its own dedicated fan base and group of competitors. Some competitors cross over between disciplines but a lot of people are dedicated to their version of motorsport.

At an event you see the car and driver, but wander into the pits and there is an extensive support crew, even at simpler events, whose aim is to keep the car and driver going and then do the countless hours between events to repair, rebuild and check the vehicle for the next event, usually taking more hours than the vehicle ran for during the event.

These support crew are the unsung heroes of all motorsports!