The 2019 HSRCA Summer Festival is heading to Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend, over the 30th of November and 1st of December, and it’s bringing with it a bumper field of classic sports and racing cars.
The Summer Festival is the HSRCA’s season finale for 2019 and will see the club putting on two packed days of summer motorsport at Sydney’s iconic Sydney Motorsport Park circuit in Eastern Creek. It kicks off with a private practice day on Friday the 29th of November, warming up with qualifying on Saturday morning before hitting top gear just before lunch on Saturday and running races through until Sunday afternoon.
Head to the ‘Summer Festival’ page here for the full details, including program, entry list and more.
Speaking of that bumper field, and we’re very pleased to say that the iconic 1960s race cars of Groups M & O and the mighty sports and race cars of Groups Q & R have assembled some of the biggest fields New South Wales has seen in years.
M & O will compete for the Dawson-Damer trophy, a special trophy for the cars of the ‘60s remembering John Dawson-Damer, a larger than life character with a passion for Lotus. The classic early rear-engined cars present a great mix, some running bigger motors, like Peter Strauss’ Brabham BT11, with others running high-revving 1600cc motors.
Elfin is well represented for the marque’s 60th anniversary celebration, as are other marques with strong Australian lineages, like Brabham and Renmax. Elfin will feature in a special sprint event after lunch on Sunday, with the sprint format chosen because of the wide range of cars competing – everything from Group O cars to Formula Vees and even a few from our youngest group.
Q & R present a broad range, with the monster race machines of the ‘70s benefitting from technological advancements in aerodynamics, tyres and of course big five or six litre motors. Ian Buddery’s March 86C Indy car develops 800 horsepower from its supercharged motor, while Andrew Kluver’s magnificent Lola T332 Can Am car works with more cubic displacement, putting out plenty power and presenting an awe-inspiring vision wrapped in a sports car body and Budweiser livery.
Sports 2000s mix it with the Q & R cars, following the shape of the big cars but running production engines and limited modifications. They’re a little easier to get into and work with and are a lot of fun. Here the Tigas are well represented – another car designed by an Australian.
Finally, we have the wickedly fast wings ‘n slicks race cars that mix high performance motors with aerodynamics and excellent handling. These can tackle the turn one sweeper at 250 kilometres an hour and are mostly Group R racing cars running 1600cc motors.
Group S is bringing a monumental grid to the Summer Festival and will contest what is sure to be a highlight of the weekend – the Group S relay enduro on Sunday morning. This event is a 22-lap team race with a driver change that produces plenty of action both in pit lane and out on the track.
The category consistently brings out capacity grids, and this weekend is no exception. It’s also one of the most competitive groups around. Expect to see Porsches, MGs, Austin Healeys, Alfa Romeo, Triumph, Datsun and an impressive four Shelby GT350s locked in fierce competition throughout the weekend.
We also have Ernie Nagamatsu in this field, who has brought the James Kilpatrick Porsche 356 Speedster all the way from California to take part in the meeting. The car was driven for thirty-three years by an air force general, James Kilpatrick, moving into Ernie’s custodianship upon Kilpatrick’s passing. Ernie has done a wonderful job continuing the car’s legacy and we are very pleased to have both Ernie and the Speedster at the Summer Festival.
The BMC Challenge is a sprint event that will be held on Sunday and see a group of cars running the BMC A-type engine, such as Austin Healey Sprites and MG Midgets, competing against touring cars, in particular the mighty Morris Mini Coopers.
Speaking of touring cars, Group N has brought out a near-forty strong field for our season finale. The aforementioned Minis are very well represented, as is Ford, with everything from the Mustang to Escort set for competition. Holden classics like the Torana GTR XU-1 will be out to play, as will some Japanese muscle from Mazda and Toyota and a whole lot more.
As well as these, look forward to great fields in Formula Ford and Formula Vee, as well as well-supported Regularity and Super Sprint grids.
Head to Sydney Motorsport Park, Ferrers Rd, Eastern Creek NSW 2766, on Saturday the 30th of November and Sunday the 1st of December. The motor sport will get under way from 9am each day.
Spectator tickets will be available at the gate on the weekend. Kids 12 and under get in free. Adult tickets are $25 for Saturday, $35 for Sunday and $50 for a weekend pass. Concession tickets are $20 on Saturday, $25 on Sunday and $40 for a weekend pass.
We’ll see you at Sydney Motorsport Park for the 2019 HSRCA Summer Festival!