As you all know, we lost a great bloke in Bruce (aka BJ) on 9/6/14. Below is the message i received from his wife Brenda, who i think was grateful for his time racing with us, as it got him out of her hair !!
"Hi Stu this is Brenda, Bruce's wife,
Sadly Bruce passed away on Mon morning due to a internal hemorrhage, could you please let everyone else know, I know you guys were a important part of his life.
Bren"
Below is a fitting Tribute to our Friend BJ, written by Anon.
In Memoriam - Bruce (BJ) John Hale.
Even as I type this I really can’t believe it’s true. Our community has not only lost one of it’s proudest and most passionate members, but we have also lost a great friend.
BJ burst onto the ROOZ scene in June last year with the enthusiasm of a 15 year old, and he wouldn’t mind me saying, he drove like one too. Over the last 12 months he involved himself in nearly every event that we had, and not only became a much loved ROOZ regular, but he started to get pretty bloody good.
Joining part way through Season 11, BJ rolled the TVR around the last few races of that series to nab 6th overall. He found the NSX more to his liking in Season 12, grabbing 2 podiums and 4th in the final standings. Season 13, and the Citroen Race Car was taily in a way that BJ liked. He grabbed his first 2 ROOZ wins and was only off the podium twice during the season.
We moved to GT6 and got our BRZ’s primed and painted. Poor Division 6 didn’t know what hit them. BJ scored 4 wins, 4 poles, and 4 fastest laps - and took the Championship in style. He moved to Division 5 this season and was working on making it 2 Championships in a row. 3 wins and a second from 4 races, including 4 poles and 3 fastest laps, had him sitting pretty 45 points beyond the pack. In twelve months he went from learner to dominator.
All of this aside, BJ scored his biggest victory in last season’s Race of Champions! He held his nerve and drove a perfect race to beat some the fastest guys across our community. It is perfect serendipity that this was the last event BJ won, he was, and always will be, a Champion.
We can’t talk about BJ without talking about the man. You could find him online most nights of the week and I doubt there is a regular ROOZ member who didn’t get to experience his humour, humility and horrible kiwi accent!! Personally, I got to spend many, many hours trading jokes and insults with BJ in fits of laughter. I would look for the room he was in and strap in for a few hours of fun, hoping he may have a well lubricated voice box to keep us all entertained.
I will stop here because I'm starting to struggle a bit. Bruce was a good mate and I will miss him dearly. I don’t have much of a list when it comes to regrets in my life, but I added two today. I wish I could have met the man in person, and I wish I had the chance to say “Good-bye” one more time.
Thanks for finding us BJ.
Anon.
If you wish to leave a message on his memory wall for the family you can at the following link
http://www.amemorytree.co.nz/remembrance.php?personid=254424
Stu
Last edited: Jun 15, 2014