The Laurie Starling

Excellence Award

Words and photos from motorex.com.au [June 5th, 2015]

Award Winners

Before his life was senselessly cut short on July 24, 2014, 29-year-old Laurie Starling was well on his way to becoming an inspirational and inﬂuential force in Australia’s modiﬁed car fraternity.

Not only had Laurie elevated himself to become a highly-valued Meguiar’s MotorEx and Street Machine magazine Summernats judge, Laurie and his business, The Chop Shop, had designed and built a number of benchmark vehicles; including Henry Parry’s Summernats 27 Grand Champion and 2014 Street Machine of the Year winning FB Holden, known as Old Love.

In keeping with his stature and regard within the enthusiast community, Meguiar’s MotorEx is honouring his legacy with the Laurie Starling Excellence Award, which incorporates a perpetual masterpiece billet trophy and a $5000 cash prize.

The Laurie Starling Excellence Award is an outright distinction, with no runner up. In addition to the $5000 cash prize, the winner’s name will be added to the perpetual masterpiece billet trophy. The trophy is a work of art in itself and has been designed by Adam LeBrese – an Australian custom car icon; winner of Australia’s Most Impressive Custom Car (Meguiar’s MotorEx 2011), Chip Foose Car of Show (Meguiar’s MotorEx 2013) and a two time Street Machine of the Year winner.
A prominent feature of vehicles designed and constructed by Laurie is their driveability and bias towards engineering. Laurie was also a judge of quality, therefore the judging process and the awarded vehicle will reﬂect those attributes. The nominated judging team (comprised of a select group of Laurie’s judging peers) will take into consideration the various aspects of engineering, overall look and stance.
Eligible vehicles must be a Meguiar’s MotorEx entrant and must be ﬁnished to a very high level. There is no formal application to be considered for the Laurie Starling Excellence Award. As part of the award’s evaluation process, the judging team will derive a short list of eligible vehicles they believe best represent the spirit of the award. Vehicles may be selected from the Superstars, Street Elite and ProComp categories.