‘Ronza’ cleans up the competition

By Marc McGowan
LANG Lang resident Ronald ‘Ronza’ George loves nothing more than jumping behind the wheel of his 1999 Ford Falcon AU series 1 ute.
Ronza bought his first ute at 19 and despite it meeting its fate in a headon collision, he acquired his new one, which he has dubbed ‘Country Rush’, just over three years ago.
The 27yearold has made so many modifications to his pride and joy that it often takes up to 15 minutes for him to list them to the judges of the competitions in which he enters the ute.
Whether it is bolstering his bullbar, customising the interior, enhancing the paintwork or throwing 12inch subwoofers inside, Ronza has done it all.
He spent $10,000 buying his ute and another $6000 has gone into it since, but it would have been vastly more had he passed the duties over to a professional.
“If I got someone else to do it it would cost double that. Because I’ve done a lot of it myself it’s cost nowhere near as much,” Ronza said.
“I’m just having a crack; I have nothing to lose – you can’t wreck anything. Well, you can wreck it, but you can gain quite a lot.”
He has been extremely successful in the competitive ute field in winning 60 firstplace trophies and sashes, with another 40 to 50 second and third finishes.
Ronza’s results have much to do with his ‘haveago’ attitude and desire to present his ute in pristine condition.
“The judges admire the fact I’m having a go rather than giving someone the money to make it for me,” he said.
“When you go to some of these shows, some people show their ute in a clean fashion, whereas some do in a dirty fashion.
“I keep my ute clean and it helps me at some shows, but not at others.”
Ronza’s passion for the model culminated in him taking over the reins of the ute show at the Lang Lang Rodeo four years ago.
He has managed to raise the entries from 36 in the year before his involvement to 96 at last year’s event.
This year’s competition will be held on 9 April. For further information contact Ronza George on 0418 562 984.