On Friday night, Daryl Ainsley, who was president of Cromwell's Central Motor Speedway. had gone to rescue two mates who got stuck while driving on the Tautuku Peninsula, in the Catlins, Senior Constable Murray Hewitson said.
- Speedway racing ahead
"He towed them out and his mates went back to the place they were staying on the peninsula," Hewitson said.
"They thought he'd be coming back."
They went to bed thinking Ainsley had gone for a drive.
By morning he still hadn't returned to the crib, so they went out looking.
Ainsley's vehicle was found in the sea at the bottom of a 60m-high cliff out on the peninsula at about 11.20am on Saturday. His body was in the water nearby.
Hewitson said it was "rugged" terrain.
"The peninsula is a lot of farmland, no fences, and cliffs all around the place."
Lomas Ainsley told Stuff his brother had travelled to the area on Friday to help two friends renovate a holiday house.
That night he went to the aid of the two friends after they called him for help after getting stuck in their vehicle.
He helped them out, but never made it back.
"It was dark. He must have got disoriented and went over a blind spot ... and went over the cliff," he told Stuff.
The friends "panicked" when he was still not back in the morning.
Ainsley, a 52-year-old father of three, was a respected Cromwell shearing contractor and president of Central Motor Speedway.
He was a three-times South Island champion in speedway saloon racing.
Alexandra shearing contractor Peter Lyon said Ainsley was a friend.
"As a fellow contractor, I have the utmost respect for him. He was so valued by a lot of people, including his clients."
Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan said he met Ainsley several times over the past 15 years.
"I enjoyed his energetic character, his enthusiasm and passion."
Ainsley once talked him into driving a stock car in a celebrity race.
Cromwell Community Board chairman and deputy mayor Neil Gillespie had much to do with Ainsley over the years. They played squash together and he dealt with him as a councillor and community board member.
"When Daryl really got involved with something, he gave it 150 per cent," Gillespie said.
"It's a huge loss ... there will be big boots to fill ... but my first thoughts are with the family he left behind."
Hewitson said police were investigating the incident on behalf of the coroner.
With NZME
