It was a dream come true when St Catherine’s resident, John, spent three days at the Bathurst 1000 Supercars Championship.
John was gifted two tickets to the legendary motorsports event after St Catherine’s Residential Aged Care won first prize in a local shop window dressing competition. John had helped put the winning display together and watched over the two racing cars on show.
St Catherine’s Residential Manager, Elizabeth Zachulski, was delighted to be able to gift the tickets to John. John was a motor mechanic in Bathurst for over 50 years and used to build racing cars known as Reed Specials with local racing legend George Reed.
St Catherine’s maintenance worker, Hayden, volunteered to accompany John to the event.
“It was the best three days of my life,” said John. “We took our time and saw everything we wanted to – visited the pits and all the tents, watched the cars race right on the finishing line, and I got to hold the Peter Brock trophy.
“Everything about the weekend was great – from getting the taxi there, lunch, all the cars, the crowd and spending time with Hayden. It was exhausting but I had the best time of my life."
“It was really special,” said Hayden, who is also a motorsports enthusiast. “It was great to go with someone who could share so much about cars and was equally excited as me! John was just as passionate as myself from Ford Mustangs to 351’s.
“It was a thrilling weekend for us both. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to go along with despite almost 70 years age difference between us.”
John’s wife was so happy her husband was able to enjoy such a wonderful gift and experience. She visited the Home to thank the employees for gifting the tickets and making it all possible.