Welcome home, and thanks for helping us put on a magnificent weekend of historic motorsport!
The 2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest was held over the Queens Birthday Long weekend, the 6th and 7th of June, 2015. It was the sophomore running of the event, following up from a very successful inaugural meeting in 2014.
It was also absolutely brilliant, and we’re still buzzing! We’d like to keep that historic racing buzz going just a little bit longer so we’ve put together a wrap-up and set of photo galleries from the event. Join us and take a few minutes to reminisce and catch up on the action.
Sydney Retro Speedfest kicked off on Friday with private practice. This gave competitors a chance to get situated, give their cars a warm up and make sure everything was in tip top shape for the weekend’s racing. For ARDC and HSRCA members it was also an opportunity to head to the event a little early, catch up with mates and take a look around while things were a bit quieter. All in all – a very relaxed and social start to the weekend!
Joining us for Friday practice were blue skies, sunshine and some of the nicest winter weather we could possibly have hoped for. Aside from a, frankly freezing, foggy Sunday morning this beautiful weather persisted unabated throughout the weekend, making conditions exceedingly pleasant and, thanks to the low arc of the winter sun, bathing the circuit in a wonderful golden light all weekend long. Symbolic of the golden age of motorsport? Probably.
Sydney Retro Speedfest is held on Sydney Motorsport Park’s Gardener circuit, which is the traditional Grand Prix circuit. This is a challenging and exciting circuit, and one on which a lot of important Australian motorsport history has been forged. This makes it the perfect location to host the incredible selection of historic sports and racing car machinery that the event attracts!
We were thrilled to be joined by a vast collection of cars at this year’s event, including many exceedingly rare and storied cars and some which made their Australian historic racing debut at the event. It’s not just the rare and exotic machinery that we love to see, however. The variety of race cars that attend our meetings is tremendous and it reflects competitors’ own histories with racing, as well as a general passion for motorsport that we all share.
Whether you’re into the mighty sportscars of Group C and A, such as the two Porsche 962s and BMW M1 Procar that joined us this weekend, Formula 1 or the Aussie muscle of the Heritage Touring Car Series, or the thrilling racing in Formula Vee and Formula Ford, Group N and Group S, or any and everything in between – you would’ve found more than a few things to be excited about at this year’s Speedfest!
Each car was beautifully maintained and immaculately presented, and we’d like to extend our sincere thanks and compliments to every competitor who put in such an impressive effort in doing so and joining us for the meeting. We greatly appreciate your support of our events, and look forward to hosting you at many more in the future!
Things only got better when competitors took to the circuit. The incredible care reflected in the presentation of the cars was equally matched by tenacity on the track. We enjoyed some exceptional races throughout the weekend, with brilliant dices to be found throughout every class and category.
The racing was also respectful and clean with very few incidents taking place during the weekend. That’s an impressive effort considering the passionate racing and wonderful to see. It also makes organisers’ and volunteers’ jobs much more simple and helps us to keep the track singing all weekend and put on a smooth and exciting meeting, so thank you, and congratulations!
The track was not the only place where interest and excitement was to be found, however. Amongst historic motorsport’s many great strengths is the access we’re able to offer spectators to competitors and their cars. This weekend was no exception, and the pits and paddock were a wonderful place to spend a few hours wandering, exploring and chatting.
Everyone is friendly and accommodating and it’s lovely to spend the time chatting your way through the event. And let’s face it – the cars and racing are all good fun, but we’re really putting all this work in to catch up with (and compete against) our friends. Thanks to everyone for producing such a lighthearted, social, warm and relaxed atmosphere!
We’d like to thank the many car clubs who got involved in Sydney Retro Speedfest and put on the classic car display. When it comes to immaculately presented classic cars – these guys have it mastered, and this was another great area of the event to explore and enjoy.
Our greatest and most heartfelt thanks, however, is always reserved for the many volunteers who make our events possible. An astonishing amount of effort goes into all aspects of these race meetings and none of it would be possible without the very special people who devote their time, talent, energy and passion to giving us the opportunity to play cars with our mates.
We, and I’m sure everyone involved in any way, would like to once again extend our most sincere and heartfelt thanks for everything that you do. Your efforts allow us to have these experiences, and we’re forever grateful. THANK YOU!
With that, I think it’s time to quit with the words and get to the pictures! Take a few minutes to click through the links below and enjoy the many photos contributed by the talented photographers who cover our events.
Images thanks to Rob Annesley, Riccardo Benvenuti, Jeremy Braithwaite, Scott Browne, Daniel Chee, Jeremy Dale, Paul Deegan, Matt Hart, Rod Mackenzie, Michelle McCue, Seth Reinhardt, Mark Richards, Bob Ross, Rob Scheeren, Peter Schell and Geoff Russell. Please make sure to click their names to head to their websites for much, much more, to organise prints and to support their work. To get in contact with Seth send him an email at seth@hsrca.com and for Rod Mackenzie email him here.
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Rob Annesley
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Riccardo Benvenuti
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Jeremy Braithwaite
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Scott Browne
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Daniel Chee
2015 Sydney Retro Racefest: Domenic Ciccio
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Jeremy Dale
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Paul Deegan
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Matt Hart
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Rod Mackenzie
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Michelle McCue
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Seth Reinhardt
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Mark Richards
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Bob Ross
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Rob Scheeren
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Peter Schell
2015 Sydney Retro Speedfest: Geoff Russell
Next up, we’re heading to Wakefield Park in September for our Spring Historic race meeting. We can’t wait to do it all over again, and hope you join us there!
