My speedway background
As a child, I spent a lot of time around speedway—and cars in general. I’d like to take a moment to thank my parents for the opportunities I’ve had growing up within the speedway community.
My parents have been heavily involved in speedway for close to 20 years. Before I was born, they were introduced to the sport by crewing for a saloon driver at Baypark Speedway. A few years later, before I was born, my dad began refereeing for Speedway New Zealand, and after I was born, my mum became a drivers’ representative. Both of them have been part of the official side of speedway for nearly as long as I’ve been alive.
When I was about four years old, my parents made the difficult decision to step away from volunteering at Baypark due to unforeseen circumstances, but that didn’t stop us from going and watching. However, when I was 12, they returned to speedway. Over the past eight years, they’ve been back as officials. My mum, Teena Pratt, is now the Head Drivers’ Representative at Baypark, and my dad, Brendan Pratt, is a Senior Steward for Speedway New Zealand. Their roles take them to multiple tracks, including Kihikihi, Rotorua, Huntly, and occasionally Gisborne.
When my parents returned, I didn’t just go along to watch—I wanted to be involved. In my first season back, I joined the lap-scoring team at Baypark as an assistant lap scorer, a role I held for about three seasons. During that time, I even witnessed the transition from the Dorian system to the MyLaps system.
After a few years of lap scoring, I decided I was ready for a new challenge. In the 2022/23 season, I became the Pit Announcer at Baypark. I continued in that role through the 2023/24 season before deciding to take a break from volunteering as an official. That said, I still regularly attend speedway events with my parents—and now and then, I find myself helping out at the track.
My passions
If it wasn’t cars, it was aviation. While I’ve always had a passion for art, speedway, and cars in general, everything changed when I was 10 years old—I fell in love with flying.
For years, I dreamed of becoming a pilot, either in the Air Force or as an aerial firefighter. That dream started to become a reality when I turned 13 and joined the Tauranga Young Eagles. From that point on, I did everything I could to work towards my goal of completing my first solo flight at 16 and eventually earning my private pilot’s licence.
I even had a news article written about me! Here’s the link below to read the article.
By the time I reached that milestone, I had logged around 16 hours of flight time. Just five days after my 16th birthday in 2022, I achieved my first solo flight. I could quite literally fly a plane before I could drive a car.
However, not every dream unfolds the way you hope. Unfortunately, after my first solo, I had to make the difficult decision to stop flying due to the financial cost. Even so, my passion for aviation hasn’t gone anywhere—it’s simply a dream I plan to return to in the future.
my mentor
Thanks to my combined love for speedway and aviation, I had the privilege of meeting someone who quickly became both a mentor and a role model to me—Brendon Bourne.
I met Brendon during the first season my family returned to Speedway at Baypark. He was the water ute driver, responsible for quickly watering the track between races to help keep the dust down. From the beginning, he took me under his wing. He taught me so much about flying and helped guide me in the right direction throughout my early journey in aviation.
In 2022, I was given the opportunity to represent the Tauranga Aero Club in the Flying New Zealand regional rally. At the time, I was only 15 years old, a student pilot with fewer than 14 hours logged, and understandably nervous about the level of competition. Brendon stepped in without hesitation, helping me prepare and build my confidence. He even took me flying to teach me how to perfect my touch-and-go circuits.
Brendon was one of the most cheerful and humble people you could ever meet. He was always willing to help others, and no matter where he went, he carried a smile with him. One of the most important lessons he taught me was to always stay humble.
Sadly, his time was cut far too short. He is deeply missed by many people across New Zealand and around the world.
Rest easy, Brendon.
The goal of my art
I have loved creating hand-drawn artwork for as long as I can remember.
My goal in selling my artwork is to share my passion with others who love and appreciate the world of speedway—whether you’re a fan, crew member, driver, or official. My art is for everyone.
I hope my prints and custom pieces bring joy to those who receive them. At the same time, I plan to save the profits from my artwork to help fund my long-term goal of becoming a pilot one day.