TOM HAYES
By TOM HAYES
THE sight of classic cars filled McMahon St in Traralgon at the weekend, thanks to a Cancer Council fundraiser, headlined by racing royalty.
Ray Ikin opened the doors to his beloved car collection, which comprises 22 cars; all of different eras, makes and models.
Mr Ikin began his collection around 35 years ago.
His ties to ex-Supercar driver and Bathurst legend, Jim Richards, got the show on the road as Jim, his son and also ex-Supercar driver, Steve Richards attended, alongside Steve’s son Clay, to complete the tri-generational headline.
Having suffered the extremes of cancer himself, Mr Ikin wanted to do as much as he could for those who can’t for themselves.
“We all know someone who is affected by cancer in one way or another, and I’m one of them,” Mr Ikin said.
“I wanted to do something that would help somebody. I’m sure the funds that we raise doing this will help somebody.
“You can’t help but feel glad about it.”
Hundreds of people flocked through the doors to see Mr Ikin’s car collection, chat to racing royalty and be a part of the raffle and auction on site.
“(The crowd) seem to be very happy about the day, I’ve received many congratulations. One girl wanted to give me a big hug, so that was a buzz.”
Jim is famous for winning at Bathurst a staggering seven times, just two short of the late King of the Mountain, Peter Brock – who won at the venue nine times.
Jim and Brock won the infamous race together as co-drivers on three occasions, going back-to-back-to-back from 1978 to 1980.
Jim, who has done similar events in the past was impressed by the crowd on display.
“I think we’ve done this about three or four times and this is by far the best crowd we’ve had, it’s terrific,” Jim said.
Steve is also no stranger to ‘The Mountain’, winning Bathurst five times throughout his career.
His first win at Bathurst was with Gippsland export, Jason Bright, who grew up in Moe.
Steve enjoyed an extensive racing career, spanning over 24 years, his last Bathurst win arrived 20 years after his first, in 2018, alongside the great Craig Lowndes.
Steve holds more ties to the local area, as his wife is from Traralgon, and he believed the turn out to the fundraiser passed expectations.
“It’s been fantastic. We did one back in 2019 and we had great support, but today was massive,” Steve said.
“Supercars now are in the general sporting landscape, and they have been for a long time, in Australia we all love our cars.”
Steve’s son, Clay, also joined in on festivities on the day, talking to motor-heads and was there to sign posters too.
Clay is currently at the beginning of his racing career, racing in the Toyota 86 series.
“Today was fantastic, so many more people came out than I thought, and we’ve raised a lot for the Cancer Council as well,” Clay said.
Well into his retirement now, Mr Ikin leaves plenty of time to play around with his collection.
“I come over here every day, it’s my superannuation I suppose, I just love it,” he said.
“People go boat racing and fishing or they play golf and all sorts of things, but I just love playing with my cars.”
Throughout the day the fundraiser collected around $6000 for the Cancel Council, thanks to nearly 400 people that attended the event.
