For some people in the UK, the FJ World Tour may seem like something far away and perhaps not relevant…
But try and think of it differently –
Instead of being a member of FJ in the UK where you’ve been used to FJ only grids for the last xx years, with racing opportunities from April till October at least once or twice a month, which you can either day trip to or make a weekend of to enjoy the social in the paddock with old friends and new friends yet to be made… imagine instead- as a young kid, you grew up watching Motor Racing in the 50’s/60’s, and found yourself as an adult, in a position to realise a dream to become a racing driver yourself.. occasionally at least… but instead of being surrounded by endless opportunities, there are just one or two exclusive FJ grids in your entire country each year, and to get there might take you 3 or 4 days solid driving and trailing across the breadth of the country… well welcome to life as an FJ owner in some parts of Australia / America / Canada and in some respects (although country scale exempted), New Zealand.
So, imagine how you feel, when not 1 or 2, but 20 or 30 likeminded people decide to come and visit. To come and play with you!! Wow, that’s pretty cool! Whole weekends to spend in your own little dream world racing together and being together.
That’s pretty special, right?
And there’s the knock-on effect too – whilst the tourers enjoy their feel-good bubble, other people in the paddocks see the warmth and fellowship and think hey, I quite fancy getting myself an FJ, look how much fun I could have. And then the photographers and reporters wander the paddock and capture and write about the fun that is had, and hey presto people are reading about it and seeing the photos and videos of the action, from down South or way out West, and one of two of them too think – hey, I quite fancy giving that a go too. And the ball rolls and rolls… the one or two exclusive FJ races a year, can start to become 3 or 4, and the unfinished, unused projects and half restorations in the backs of garages start to get finished and meet the tarmac once again.
So whilst it might not affect your immediate racing environment, the FJ World Tour is something to embrace and be proud of… because families are made up not just of those who we see regularly, but our distant relations who live far away, and who we still have that common connection with…
And what’s more? They are coming to visit us soon too!
Just this week a container of 9 cars from Western Australia loaded up in Connecticut on the East Coast of America, and it’s setting sail for Europe, so open your doors wide for them and the other tourers heading ‘our’ way- they are new friends waiting to be made, new business contacts, new partners and they bring new experiences waiting to be shared…
Sarah