Track of dreams marks 25 years

DRIVING VISION: Willowbank Raceway president John Winterburn and director Sue Symec.

Claudia Baxter

IT started as a small team of drag enthusiasts looking to build a half-decent quarter-mile strip for racing.

Fast forward 25 years, and the Willowbank Raceway track has turned into the Southern Hemisphere’s most revered drag racing facility.

Willowbank is now an impressive world-class facility, but raceway president John Winterburn remembers the team behind the drag strip started with a more humble vision.

“Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined we’d be where we are now with Willowbank,” Mr Winterburn said.

“We just wanted a track for our club to race once a month. It’s naturally grown from that to the point now where we had 38,000 people through the gates for this year’s Winternationals series.”

The ball first started rolling way back in 1981 when Willowbank Raceway Inc began issuing $50 debentures to raise funds for the project, after securing a 20-year lease for the land a year earlier.

Work started with mowing and the bulldozing of trees in early 1982, and after three hard years of work the track hosted its first ever races over the September 28 and 29 weekend in 1985.

The track and its facilities have grown since that first race and are showing no sign of slowing down, with the expansion of the site’s grandstands planned soon.

To celebrate the track’s 25th anniversary, Willowbank Raceway will hold an informal celebration with static display vehicles, memorabilia and official presentations.

The day will run from 9am to 4pm on September 19 and there will be two ticketing options available for those wishing to go along to the event.

There will be pre-purchase tickets for $30 for adults and students and $20 for children under the age of 13, with the ticket including a barbecue lunch (from 11.30am) and official Willowbank Raceway goodie bag including 25th anniversary merchandise.

Alternatively, entry is free on the day, with the track canteen available for purchase of food and drinks. For details on the day and to purchase tickets visit www.willowbankraceway.com.au.