Hamilton 400

Hamilton 400 Super-Charged Entertainment 2009

In the end it was a Ford that won, but the 2009 Hamilton 400 was a great weekend regardless of whether you are a Ford fanatic or a diehard Holden supporter. The racing was great, the weather held out and an average of over 40,000 fans turned out for each of three days. They say a picture tells a thousand words, so we’ve chucked a load of our best photos from the weekend on the website, but here are a few of our highlights from the weekend as well:

• A great launch party at the Bank on the Wednesday before – the new bar looks wicked, and was christened in style by the Lion Red Rockettes, the Kara Gordon Trio and special guest Greg Murphy, who not only fielded questions and signed autographs, but also poured a few pints behind the bar!
• The Lion Red container bar in Hinemoa Park looked fantastic – cheers to everyone who stopped by for a cold Lion Red and to check out the entertainment, which included:
• A showstopping set by the Jordan Luck Band on Saturday, which saw a massive crowd singing along to an hour of Exponents classics and Kiwi rock favourites
• Guitar heroics from the Kara Gordon Trio on Friday and Sunday, including an awesome version of Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” featuring a solo which Kara played with his teeth!
• Awesome performances by the Lion Red Rockettes each day, including some sensational dances on track on Saturday and Sunday. If you were lucky enough to meet the Rockettes and have your photo taken, your photo might even be on the site!
• If you saw the Rockettes on track, you would have seen our awesome Lion Red branded Holden Maloo – thanks to Ebbett Holden in Hamilton
• Wade McKinnon and Evarn Tuimavave from the Vodafone Warriors stopped by on the Saturday to check out the racing and sign a few autographs. They also caught up with Team Vodafone – check out the great photos of Wade and Evaan with Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes
• Greg Murphy was also at the container bar for a signing session – amongst the big queue of fans was a lady who had Murph sign her new baby!
• The Miss Hamilton 400 comp, held on the stage at the Lion Red container bar, was a big hit
• The Lion Red Hammer Strike Strength Tester was a big success as well – anyone who rang the bell went in daily draws to win prizes including a Team Vodafone garage tour, a place in the drivers’ parade and great Lion Red merchandise. This competition was so popular that we broke three pretty solid looking mallets over the course of the weekend!
• Anyone who bought any of our great Lion Red merchandise also went into daily draws to win a signed Warriors jersey – congrats to the winners
• It was good to catch up over a beer with Reece Thompson and his brother Matthew, the winners of the Lion Red and Radio Hauraki Ultimate V8 Fan promotion – Reece and Matthew won tickets to the V8s; travel, accommodation and hospitality for the weekend; a heap of great V8s, Lion Red and Hauraki merch; plus a load of great experiences over the weekend, including hot laps and safety car rides