Drag Racing General Drag Racing & Motorsport

Heathcote Park Raceway has a couple of 'Bike only' events scheduled for the next few months.

 

Portland finally managed to get some good weather and the racers flocked there in big numbers (160+).

https://dragnews.com.au/south-coast-660-heralds-first-summit-racing-series-winners-of-2023/

Rolling burnout...not sure how this finished up; that front end/wheel looks like it is already on the stops! I'd take my fingers off that front brake lever too.

 

Well, just to confirm that the 6.65sec HQ is street driven, it has been entered in the 2023 Drag Challenge. The Drag Challenge is a good old-fashioned drive-drag safari taking in multiple drag strips on a back-to-back basis over a number days. Details in this article.

https://www.whichcar.com.au/streetmachine/events/drag-challenge

And, here's a pic of it driving between events.



And some YT vid of some of the contestants



And a final warning; if a silver GTS HQ with a licence plate that reads 'Bolics' pulls up next to you at the lights, DO NOT pick a drag race with it.

 

Spotted at a recent meeting in Sydney. I do believe this is a Royal Enfield running nitrous! Images courtesy of Crackling Pipes photography.

 

Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but the National Penny Farthing Championship races are on in Evandale, Tasmania this Saturday (18th of Feb 2023). It's an annual event except when there's a pandemic, so it skipped 2021.

https://evandalevillagefair.com/



A Historic Event

First held in 1983, based on an event held in Tunbridge, Tasmania, in the 1970's. Evandale has attracted penny farthing enthusiasts from all states of Australia and from New Zealand, USA, England, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Singapore and Japan. Recognised internationally as the largest annual event in the world devoted to racing antique bicycles.

Penny farthing enthusiasts converge on Evandale from throughout Australia and overseas to vie for a series of races, held on a triangular circuit in the centre of the village. Market stalls and a variety of entertainments are situated in the streets and parks surrounding the race circuit, creating the ambience of a colonial country fair.

Organised by the Evandale Village Fair Inc.

In The Town of Evandale
The streets of Evandale, Northern Tasmania, Australia. 20 km south of Launceston, 5km south of Launceston Airport. Evandale is one of the state's earlier settlements, with buildings dating back to the 1820's. Many buildings are from Victorian times when penny farthings were the bicycle of the day. The village's well preserved streetscapes provide a perfect backdrop for this event.

History of the Penny Farthing
The penny farthing evolved from the Velocipede or "Boneshaker" in the 1870's, when it was realised that the larger the front wheel, the further the machine would travel with each turn of the pedal.

The first bicycle to be mass produced, especially in England and America. There was no large scale producer in Australia, bicycles were made here from imported components.

The first bicycles to be raced to any great extent in Australia. In Tasmania regular race meetings were held at the Cricket Grounds in Launceston and Hobart, and the state's first bike club, the Northern Tasmanian Cycling Club, was formed in 1884. Early Austral Wheel Races in Victoria were raced on penny farthings.

Production phased out in the 1890's, when the "safety" bicycles with chain drive made the large front wheel unnecessary.

"Penny Farthing" is acknowledged as a nickname. In their day, they were called "bicycles". British enthusiasts now prefer the term "Ordinary Bicycle", while the Americans prefer "Highwheelers".

 

And the hits just keep on coming. Man, I've missed real life; the last couple of years have just been the worst. Mental Note: Don't ever let your freedoms be taken away. On with the motorsports. This event is always an absolute cracker. No bikes, but it's motorsport porn for lovers of heritage racing vehicles.

PHILLIP ISLAND CLASSIC FESTIVAL OF MOTORSPORT
MARCH 9-12 2023

https://vhrr.com/phillip-island/


I haven't been for a few years, but here's a pic of my favourite 'Batmobile' BMW from my last trip to the Classic.

 

And, if you can't make it to Phillip Island, then you can catch the next motorsport festival in Adelaide 2 weeks later on the 25th & 26th of March.

https://www.adelaidemotorsportfestival.com.au/news

 

And the outcome wasn't ideal.

 

This is a little different. I think back in the day beach sprints were more common. Good to see people are still racing down the beach. This event is in South Australia next weekend (11th & 12th of March). It would be a bit of fun I'm guessing. Definately not an amateur production.






More details in the link below.

https://tinyurl.com/yc59za7s

 

Nice post @Andych

It covers the incredible performance and mechanicals of a Nitro-burning Top Fueller or Funny Car. Sadly (or not), that information is a tad dated. Today's 'cars' are even more scary. The NHRA hasn't run a top fueller or nitro funny car over the 1/4 mile since Scott Kalitta died many years ago. All racing for Nitro TF and FC is now done over a distance of 1,000ft (a 1/4 mile is 1,320ft).

Just to put modern day performance into perspective, the ET and MPH records for 1,000ft are 3.623sec and 338.94mph for Top Fuel. The Funny Car records are 3.793sec and 339.87mph (the speed is a little better due to the better aero on a modern funny car). So, you can imagine that a modern Nitro vehicle travelling at 339mph with another 320ft (1,000ft Vs 1,320ft) of racetrack is going plenty quick and, unfortunately, it is too dangerous. In Australia, we're not quite at the same performance levels of the NHRA, but our guys (and girls) are running 3.7 times at 330mph over the 1,000ft, so still scary crazy stuff.

 

Kimi Raikkonen...I love this guy.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...quad-following-f1.2ZZNaVm992rHXWCKAjCENr.html

 

I'm back on the mainland while this is on, so I hope to get there and enjoy some historic racing. Free Admission? My day just keeps getting better!