Alice Springs Inland Dragway is looking forward to a brilliant weekend of Desert Nationals racing to open the new 2024/2025 ANDRA Regional Sportsman Championship season across August 24-25, with perfect weather forecast and the track surface well and truly delivering at recent events.
The Central Australian Drag Racing Association (CADRA) recently hosted the NT Titles across July 20-21, with all reports pointing to a fantastic racing surface ahead of the upcoming Desert Nationals.
CADRA President, Dan Hodgins, said he is confident he can promise a fantastic and competitive event for those who make the trip.
“It is no secret that we had some issues at last year’s Desert Nationals with the event called off early with the bitterly cold conditions and also some issues with contaminated methanol which we discovered after the event,” Hodgins explained.
“We know for a lot of the racers it is a long way to travel, and so they want to be assured of a great event before they make the commitment.
“Of course, Mother Nature runs its own show, but what I can tell you is that we have moved the event a month later to take advantage of the warmer weather – and the forecast is looking amazing both in the lead-up and for event week – and we have also taken a number of steps including a full scraping of the track startline to 60’ to ensure the racing surface is top notch.
“That track work has been paying off as well, with proven results and happy racers at the NT Titles just weeks ago; I would say that it is the best I have seen it – and we all know tracks improve the more passes we have on them, so we are expecting it to only get better as we head into the Desert Nationals.
“Not only are we looking forward to a great weekend on the track, off the track this is a really social event, and we are bringing a band along to entertain the racers and volunteers at night as well.
“Personally, our team has entered five vehicles (cars and bikes), and we have another JD ready to go as well, and we really want to see as many racers as possible coming along and joining us, so if you are still deciding, we encourage you to bite the bullet and hit that enter button! And don’t forget, 50 percent bonus points could be a really good way to set up your ANDRA Regional Sportsman Championship chase!”
Track management aren’t the only ones excited for the Desert Nationals either, with a number of racers calling on their fellow competitors to get involved.
“I was at the Desert Nationals last year and I will be here again this year after racing at the NT Titles a few weeks ago,” said South Australian racer, Bradley Hicks.
“I was only able to run on the Saturday due to car issues, but the track was good and it looked even better on Sunday as more and more cars ran down it.
“I have had racers contact me asking me what I think, and I have told them all to come and be a part of it – the weather is looking good and the sunshine should help a lot, and the track is looking great.
“I am very much looking forward to getting out there for the Desert Nationals – I love racing at Alice Springs, it is a great location with really good people, so I want everyone to put any concerns they have behind them and support a great club and a great race track by being a part of this event.”
Archie Fabian is another racer who was on track at the NT Titles and is encouraging others to get involved.
“The track was clean from start to finish, they didn’t have to work on it a lot during the event, and it was able to handle more than we needed it to the whole time,” the Whyalla Steel City Drag Racing Club President said.
“It is always a friendly place to be, CADRA are always accommodating, and the team there puts everything they have into it.
“I know the media sometimes pushes that there are issues in Alice Springs in general, but personally we have never seen it – we try and come up from SA at least twice a year, and every time we have a great time.
“The facility is on-point, and I am completely confident the track can handle whatever is thrown at it – and we all know the more racers that are out there, the better it will get.
“If it wasn’t for work commitments we would be there again, but I hope that I can encourage as many people as possible to turn out and support this great club and track.”
Entries for the Desert Nationals close on August 16th, 2024. Go to www.cadra.com.au to enter.
For more from ANDRA, visit www.andra.com.au
2024/2025 ANDRA REGIONAL SPORTSMAN CHAMPIONSHIP DATES
• Round one – August 24-25 – Alice Springs Inland Dragway – Desert Nationals
• Round two – September 21-22* – Mildura’s Sunset Strip – Sunset Nationals
• Round three – November 22-23 – Perth Motorplex – Goldenstates
• Round four – December 7-8* – Portland’s South Coast Raceway – South Coast Nationals
• Round five – February 8-9^ – Dragway at The Bend
• Round six – February 14-15 – Mildura’s Sunset Strip – Twilight Nationals
• Round seven – March 15-16 – Whyalla’s Steel City Raceway – event name TBC
• Round eight – TBC – Dragway at The Bend – ANDRA Grand Final
*track will host an optional test day on the Friday
^event will double as a track championship round
