With the new season about to begin in WA, I thought some spare time on a Sunday might be well spent going back through some old photos and checking out the season opener from 15 years ago at Perth Motorplex.
It’s an interesting time capsule of photos to check out, with many teams still around while others you wonder, what happened?
This Torana has not changed a lot. Brenton Baxter drove it back in 2003, while now it is owned and driven by Andy Kahle – still in the familiar green colour. There was even a photo of this car in our last magazine looking very similar.
Bruce ‘Budgie Jones’ spent a season riding this Suzuki, normally ridden by Dale Gummow. He would return to the seat of this bike a decade and a half later and win a 2017/18 Modified Bike championship!
Now Top Alcohol driver Aaron Deery raced Bob St Lawrence’s Toyota-powered dragster in Modified, before Supercharged Outlaws was a category on offer at the Motorplex.
Toyota-powered dragsters weren’t limited to St Lawrence’s, with Vic Donis racing this PSI-supercharged version.
Former ANDRA CEO Mal Bulley was racing a naturally aspirated Comp altered.
Ian Johns’ Camaro was always a favourite and for a long time was one of the quickest and fastest naturally aspirated vehicles in the country with an NHRA style 500ci motor.
Debbie O’Rourke and husband Grant campaigned a pair of Monaro doorslammers. Debbie ran in AA/AP while Grant’s was in full Top Doorslammer spec.
Steve Reed and Dean McClennan were the feature drivers of the event, racing their Top Alcohol Funny Cars.
The crowds in the early days of the Motorplex were solid, even for events with a relatively sedate feature card. Only half an hour from the city, drag racing was a novelty for many fans who rarely or never attended Ravenswood Raceway because of the distance.
Now Top Alcohol driver Shane Weston cutting his teeth in Junior Dragster.
Enjoy the rest of the photos below!
