V8’s for your Prostate

V8’s for your Prostate

V8 champion Jason Bargwanna, pictured here with fellow Blue September ambassadors Masterchef runner up Kelly Young and Porsche racer, Jonny Reid at the Pukekohe raceway, Round 1.

A V8: muscle, grunt, horsepower and thrill. Begging the question, what do V8’s have in common with prostates? In this case, more than you might think.

A car being raced by racing champion Jason Bargwanna in round two of the V8 Racing Championship will be sporting the logo of the Prostate Cancer Foundation at the Ruapuna Speedway from the 26th – 28th November.

Jason Bargwanna is best known for winning the 2000 Bathurst 1000. He has raced V8 Supercars with the Holden Young Lions Team, Garry Rogers Motorsport, and in 2009, Bargwanna joined Kelly Racing for the 2010 season.

In this series however, Bargwanna is driving for a cause bigger than himself, hoping that he can draw attention to a disease that affects one in ten New Zealand men. 2,500 men a year are diagnosed with prostate cancer, with close to 600 men dying every year. The reality is that approximately half those deaths could likely have been prevented by early detection.

Bargwanna is proud to be a part of the effort being given to driving awareness for this cause: “V8 racing is a sport predominantly followed by men, a lot of them in a certain age group, so we saw this as a good opportunity to put some branding on the car to get the message out there. I’m certainly more conscious of my health now than I was fifteen years ago, and that includes getting a prostate check”.

The connection between prostate cancer and V8 racing is very relevant, according to CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation Keith Beck: “Men tend to appreciate their cars but they rarely pay as much attention to their health. We want to see men starting to get proactive and going for an annual prostate cancer check from age 40”.

To help raise awareness and funds for the Prostate Cancer Foudation, Rock Energy Drinks, a major sponsor of Bargwanna, is offering a hot lap to Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker, who will be taken for the ride of his life during the practice rounds on the 26th of November.

Another hot lap is also being auctioned off on trade me. The winner of the auction will receive a ride in a V8 Racing Car including two circuits of the track and promising adrenaline rush. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

For more information on the Prostate Cancer, visit the Prostate Cancer Foundation website: www.prostate.org.nz

ENDS

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