We are very pleased to announce that Mike Basquil, CLA Motorsport Competition Secretary, CAMS Delegate and all-round good man, has been awarded the CAMS NSW Official of the Year award, as well as a CAMS Service Award for his contributions to the motorsport community.

The awards were announced at a function held by CAMS on Saturday evening, the 22nd of November, 2014, at the Royal Automobile Club of Australia in Sydney’s Circular Quay.

They recognise a sustained long-term dedication to the motorsport community and contributions which go above and beyond the call of duty.

Two independent nominations were submitted recommending Mike for the award, sponsored by Keith Edwards, Rex H, Barry Mather, Stephen Perry, Syd Reinhardt, Brian Sutton and Adrian Wuillemin.

“We originally put the nominations together for Mike because we are so conscious of the huge amount of effort and time he puts into the set up and running of so many events. It’s easy for this work to go unrecognised by many of those involved and we wanted to make sure that this was not the case!”

“I am absolutely thrilled that CAMS saw fit to award not only the Service Award, but also the CAMS Official of the Year, fully recognising the input Mike has to our favourite pastime! Thank you so much Mike!” – CLA President, Ashton Roskill

We’ve known for a long time that Mike is the Official of All Time, worldwide, and a man of utmost magnificence, so we’re thrilled to see him recognised by Australian motorsport’s official governing body.

Volunteers like Mike are the lifeblood of grassroots motorsport, and it is their unflinching selflessness and dedication to the sport which make it tick, and provides us with opportunities for us to get together and enjoy our cars in a safe and competitive environment.

Mike – we’re lucky to have you and are eternally grateful for the hard work and talent you dedicate to the club!

Mike had the following to say about all of the fuss.

“Ashton rang me up told me that he was getting a table together for the award night. I was in the car at the time and I didn’t gather exactly the meaning behind what he said.”

“I was already going because I get a ticket via the Super Sprint panel, so I said OK. He replied with “OH, that’s good!” and again I didn’t think more of it. So I was quite surprised when I got two gongs!”

“I was a bit embarrassed by it all. You just do what needs to be done. I’m in the fortunate position where I can award it the time that other people can’t.”

“You just want people to get out there and have a good time. That’s the reason I do it. When I first started doing track days there were good events and ordinary events. The ordinary events were really ordinary. I couldn’t see why they all couldn’t be good?”

“You want to make the days good because you’re spending your own hard-earned and you want to give people good value for money. If you don’t like something your only choice is to fix it!”

“In our series we’re lucky because everyone has been running together for such a long period of time and everyone knows everyone else, even across the various clubs. So it’s very much a social thing with competition thrown in just to make it just a bit more interesting.”

“When I took on the job of Competition Secretary I had no idea it would become the vehicle for meeting and working with so many great people, all of who I am proud to call friends. It has and will continue to be a fun ride, and I’d like to send my sincere thanks to all who have joined me in having a great time mucking about with cars!”

Images by Barry Mather