Sam enjoys his pacy joy ride
Like many children, Sam Hastie always wanted to ride in a race car. Now his dream has come true.
The 8-year-old got his wish at Christchurch’s Ruapuna Raceway, speeding around the track at 200kmh.
Sam has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease that will cut his life short.
The three laps around the circuit this week mean he can tickoff ‘‘going in a fast car’’ from the bucket list of things he hopes to do while he is still able.
Sam was wide-eyed as he watched his dream car pull up to the starting line. He chose to ride in a black Holden V8. Mum Angela Hastie told him not to tell his Poppa, who is a Ford fan.
Sam asked to go ‘‘as fast as we can’’.
Behind the wheel was Ruapuna Raceway owner and Tasman champion Chris Hyde, who said Sam ‘‘screamed the whole way’’ around from a mix of nerves and excitement.
Ground crew member Niquita Peters said it was great to be able to offer him such a fun opportunity.
‘‘We like to offer smiles where we can,’’ she said.
After his ride, Sam was given a certificate and a video taken from inside the car so he could relive the adrenaline-packed experience.
A Givealittle page set up for Sam has now reached more than $15,000 and the family was overwhelmed by the opportunities they had been offered.
It has been quite a week for Sam. On Wednesday he was given the chance to ride on a ferris wheel, another item on his bucket list.
Christchurch-based Joyrides Amusements offered him exclusive use of the attraction.
Owner Russ Harris said he was glad to help out and provide Sam with some happy memories.
Hastie said Sam had tears of joy at the end of the day.
In the past week, Sam had also been to a Crusaders captain’s run, was driven to school in a Lamborghini, and was due to visit Orana Park yesterday.