By
Deanna Nott
Music
and mechanics may not seem like a perfect match. However, they
proved to be the right combination when three Reserve musicians
from the South Australian Detachment of the Royal Australian Navy
Band were given the opportunity to inspect the Ozemail Racing
Team’s pits during the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race.
SMNMUSN
Belinda Marks, Nicole Bates and ABMUSN Tristan Courtney were given
a tour of driver John Bowe’s BA Falcon XR8 before he headed
out for the race one warm-up.
Belinda,
a vocalist with the detachment, said she found the technology
used in the V8 “extremely interesting”.
“It’s
great to get into the pits and see how the team works together,”
she said.
“The
pits are so busy and so much is happening.
“I
was also amazed by the fact that the V8 Supercar is three times
more powerful than a normal V8.”
The
South Australian detachment was among the most popular attractions
at the event, playing classic hits for three hours on both Saturday
and Sunday.
CPOMUSN
Andrew Stapleton said no encouragement was needed when he called
for volunteers to play at the Clipsal 500.
“A
lot of our band members say this is the best gig we do each year,”
said CPO Stapleton, who organises about 40 commitments annually
for the band, mostly on weekends.
“We
get really good crowds and the people are ready to party and have
a dance, which is fantastic for our band. Crowd reaction really
gets them going.” Senior Naval Officer - South Australia,
CMDR John Parkin said the band’s involvement in the Clipsal
500 reinforced the Navy’s presence in the state.
“More
than 213,000 people attended the event over the four days providing
great exposure for Navy and Defence as a whole,” he said.
