The inaugural Pirtek Legends night raised more than $200,000 for Motorsport Ministries at the JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort and Spa on Friday night.
More than 360 people attended the night which was created to raise funds and awareness for the Motorsport Ministries, while also paying tribute to Australian motorsport legend, Dick Johnson.
The night was created by Speedcafe.com founder Brett “Crusher” Murray, who co-hosted the event with racer and Gold Logie-winning TV star Grant Denyer.
Kostecki was among those to donate to the auction; the special helmet he’s wearing this weekend sold for $13,500 in a lot that included signage for the GC500 races.
The 2023 Supercars champion was also the last standing for the Triple Eight hot lap, bidding $3,500 for the right to ride alongside Will Brown or Broc Feeney.
Kostecki’s cheeky buy follows a similar move from Brown last year, who bought a ride alongside Cam Waters at another charity auction event.
Friday night’s auction featured an array of amazing items, including a ride in a 2015 Bathurst-winning car driven by Craig Lowndes, donated by Scott Taylor, which sold for more than $20,000.
The night also included video messages from US-based Australian GT racer Kenny Habul and former Bathurst winner Tony Longhurst, who both contributed $10,000.
The night was also attended by Motorsport Ministries founder, Garry Coleman and his wife Betty who traveled from Sydney for the event.
The chairman of the Motorsport Ministries committee, Steve Peach, was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for the night and the final cheque that was presented.
“This amount of money is game changing for us,” said Peach.
“It will allow us to offer our services to so many more people and give us an opportunity to train and develop many more young people wanting to become involved in chaplaincy.
“To be honest, we are not sure where to start in regards to everyone who has contributed tonight.
“The width and breadth of the support has been simply amazing and something we are incredibly grateful for.”
Pirtek Legends Night founder, Brett “Crusher” Murray, said the event was a “good start”.
“Motorsport Ministries provides an enormous service to the Australian Motorsport community and it is important that we go out of our way to support them,” said Murray.
“While it was important to raise as much as we did, it is equally important to raise the awareness of the work done by Motorsport Ministries which, in turn, will result in regular support for what they do for the sport.
“The response to tonight has been overwhelming and really gives us a lot of confidence for what we can create next year and beyond.
“I have to thank my co-master of ceremonies Grant Denyer for helping me drive the show and all our incredible sponsors including Pirtek, the JW Marriott, Speedcafe.com, Supercars and the team at Lloyds Auctions.
“The commitment from all levels of the sport and the general community has been incredible.
“I have already sold 20 tables for next year on the back of 10-second conversations at the end the night and I have no doubt that the generosity of the lot donors and suppliers will continue.
“The team at Motorsport Ministries is first class and it is pleasing we could create such a result.
“The great thing is that we also paid an appropriate tribute to Dick Johnson and everything he has contributed to our sport.”
Tickets for next year’s Pirtek Legends Night will go on sale in March next year.
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