I really shouldn't be on at the moment... It being a school night and all, but today I had one of those REALLY great days that remind you why you are striving to do what you want. Its not like winning a medal, more like being told that you are good enough to step up to the next level...

Although my skills and maturity in some respects aren't ready enough to move on JUST yet, by just hanging out with some well known and important peeps at the V8 supercars today, reminded me of why I was so excited to be getting into motorsport way back in the day. Why ever since I was a very little girl I was begging Dad to build me a race car. Why I was so gun-ho as soon as I turned 18 that I was going to buy a race car.

But for now, I know that there are still many hurdles to overcome. But as the nut case that many people see me as, I am not going to turn back because of them...
Today I had 3 race drivers and family members from different pits tell me "Its hard... very hard..." And I don't know whether they were trying to turn me off it or whether they were trying to prepare me for what was further down the track... Whatever it was, it serves only to spur me on. I have no money, no job, but a bag full of dreams... Lets hope thats enough...

Now, one of the last times that I wrote, I said that I would explain why it was that I was so eager to become the first recipient of the Stewart McColl trophy....

On the day that Stewart died, I was out buying my first race car. I had followed his category and knew of him but had never met him and never even knew that he had raced in Fvees before. That weekend I had a mate down at Phillip Island who was helping pit crew for Matt White's brute ute and his car which I think was in the same category. My mate saw the accident happen and messaged me about it straight away because I told him to keep me up to date with everything since I couldn't be there to help too.

I straight away hopped on the net to find out what I could about this guy. Within days the outpouring of grief over Stewart's death flowed onto the webpages that motorsport was associated with and it was here that I found out that Stewart was an ex-Vee driver. Everything everyone said about him made me so sad, that I had missed out on meeting this AMAZING guy... He had done everything that I had planned to do and had so much potential... But now he couldn't furfill it. I sat for a few hours over a couple of days looking at the email address of his dad... To try and tell him how I, who did not even know Stewart, had been touched by his life. That his successes in the past still encouraged me to keep going on in what I was doing. But I could never send it. How would I know what the loss of child is like? How would I even know whether he even wished to head from anyone like me anyway? So I chose instead to be grateful in silence.

Then, in the early part of this year, I recieved the formula Vee newsletter which said that there would be a Stewart McColl trophy for a young person with a great family support. I felt that this was my chance to not only thank this guy's family for the person that they gave to our sport, but also a way to thank my family for allowing me to get into it in the first place.

Now, I NEVER claim to be any Stewart McColl, that would be too good a brand for me. But if I could get that trophy, just for my family and in honour of that guy that I was never able to meet, maybe I can start to make a difference and a name for myself too. But at the moment its about my family... That is why the race team is Lasts and Lasts and now Kirsty Last racing. This is a team effort... And without family I doubt ANY race car driver would have gotten ANYWHERE.


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Wow! What a fast turn around in spirits have I had???
Of late I was starting to loose faith in the Australian buisness community for support... but how wrong have I been prooven?

In the last 48 hours alone I have been blessed beyond recall! I have just received word from Dad that Bare Co, an Agricultural parts manufacturer, has decided to come on board as a monetary sponsor, and we had only last night received word that Classic Trailers, the company owned by David Besnard's Mum, is willing to help us get our trailer up to scratch!!!

When I received word on the Classic trailers deal, I was stoked! Mrs Besnard left a message on my dormetry phone(Which doubles as the Lasts and Lasts Motorsport buisness phone! :), and I started screaming! This lady is one of THE nicest and politest and supportivest and all other good -ist words, that you could ever find! Hopefully I will get to meet her on the weekend and give her a big hug! She deserves it!

As for the Bare Co deal... it was just as fun! I had just sat down to dinner tonight in a packed college kitchen and the phone rang. It was Dad. He gave me the regular speil about the companies that had sent letters back rejecting sponsorship. He then asked me to guess how much Bare-Co had said they wished to put in. For starters I was SHOCKED that someone had finally decided to put some money into us... secondly I was shocked when Dad asked me if he could keep the change after telling me that the sponsorship deal was for $1000!!! I started screaming and my fork hit the deck whilist 62 freaked out onlookers(The other people in the kitchen at the time) watched me continue to scream "I''ve got a sponsor! I've got a SPONSOR!"

After things had quitened down a bit and my mates gave me a few pats on the back for finally suceeding in getting somewhere, I finally realsied where things were going... WHERE I WANT THEM! And for the first time in a long time, I remeber why I was so enthused about getting money in the first place. I was finally able to say YES, I can pay for Dad's new entrant's license... Yes, I CAN afford to go to another round... And Yes, we will continue on... ALWAYS!

So, as I sit in my dorm room, all warm and cosy, and I remeber how thankful I am not JUST for the sponsors who I have now who are to help me on my way, but most importantly to the people who have gotten me to where I am today. My only fans, my only supporters... Mum, Dad, my sibs and me mates. Thanks Guys... without your help I would have given up only the other day, when after 20 knock-backs I was crying, alone in my room. It was you guys who reminded me that there was only another door to knock on before I would get a YES after all those NOs...

I love you all and pray that soon we will get some more sponsors guaranteed so that we I can get a crack at that Stewart McColl Trophey... Not for me... But for all of you guys that helped me get here and for those who continue to uphold me everyday in life, prayer and just the simple hugs and words that make it all worth while.

I'll talk a little more about the Stewy McColl Trophey in the next one, but for now, let it be known. Thats what I am after.
Again, more in the next posting...

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Hey all!
No promises... But I will be writing soon. I am desperately seeking some sponsorship and doing uni and helping to build a race car there... So things are VERY busy at my end of the line.

Yesterday(Sunday) heralded what is hoped to be the start of a long line of publicity moves for Lasts and Lasts motorsport. The team participated in it's first photo shoot up in Sydney under the anzac bridge, early on the frosty morning. Soon this photos will be molded by our web designer, into a brand new site! These photos will also be used to create some publicity in the local media in the near future as a way also to gain some attention... That's right. I, Kirsty Last am an attention seeker. Like nobody knew that!
hehehe... Oh well...

Better go. Starting to feel guilty about having done no uni work.
If anyone knows how to move a 1kg bag of rice from down to up, give us a call. That is the CURRENT uni dilemma.

Love yas all.
Kirst
xxx
ooo

Go back to Lasts and Lasts Motorsport's Webpage via this URL: www.downshift.to/lasts