The Australian Racing Drivers Club

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2018 QBE INSURANCE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SPEED

With 15 years experience in running world-class historic motorcycle race meetings, the International Festival of Speed returns to Sydney Motorsport Park on March 22nd – 25th 2018.

Bring the family and join the action to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the World Superbike Championship, spearheaded by multiple world champions Troy Bayliss and Troy Corser.

Watch over 400 classic race bikes battle in the 50+ event race program over four action filled days, with Trans Tasman and International racers fighting for class honours and a spot in the much-anticipated Top 50 QBE Superbike Shootout.

Highlights of the International Festival of Speed include the ever-popular spectator parade laps, trade stands, motorcycle club stands, legends autograph sessions as well as general public access to pit garages and main grandstand.

Meet your heroes with guest legends including:

– Troy Bayliss (3 Time Superbike World Champion and MotoGP Rider)

– Troy Corser (2 Time Superbike World Champion and MotoGP Rider)

– Pierfrancesco Chili (Superbike, 250cc & 500cc GP Rider)

– Randy Mamola (500cc GP Winner)

– Jeremy McWilliams (250cc GP Winner & MotoGP Rider)

– Steve Parrish (500GP Rider & Factory Team Manager)

– Graeme Crosby (500cc GP Rider and TT Formula One Winner)

– Kevin Magee (500cc GP Winner)

– Chris Vermeulen (2003 World Supersport Champion & MotoGP Rider)

– Sir Alan Cathcart (Motorcycle Journalist)

Buy tickets online for special offers and to purchase raffle tickets to enter the draw to win a brand new Honda CBR600RR.

For tickets and further information visit www.internationalfestivalofspeed.com Check out the 2018 sizzle reel here.

The QBE Insurance International Festival of Speed is promoted by the PCRA (Post Classic Racing Association) of NSW.

SMSP Free Wheel Festival, Sunday January 28 2018

The SMSP Free Wheel Festival is your FREE invitation to enjoy the park’s wonderful facilities! Plus there’s also a heap of fun activities for all ages… all FREE!
– Walk, run, skate, cycle the racetrack
– Bus tour of the racetrack
– Motorkhana demo and passenger rides
– Drifting demo and passenger rides
– Clunker Challenge: you against the clock in our Clunker!
– Jump in the car and experience cool new car tech in our Driver Training Interactive sessions
– Jumping castle, face painting, inflatable slide for the littlies
– Police, Fire and Rescue vehicles
– SMSP display with REAL race cars + bikes, and loads of ‘’Car Candy” vehicles in the Cars n’ Coffee area
– Tour of Race Control with our Officials
– Remote Control Car racing
– Racing Simulators
And so much more… AND IT’S ALL FREE! Plus a Pepsi Max or Cool Ridge water for every attendee, thanks to Presenting partner Pepsi Max.
We hope to see you at the track!
When: Sunday 28th Jan 2018
10am – 2pm
Cost: FREE
Note: Passengers must be 16+ years, and be in wrist-to-ankle clothing and closed shoes. U18 will need the signature of a parent or guardian.

Muscle Car Masters set for June long weekend in 2018

15/12/2017: Sydney Motorsport Park’s long-running and ever-popular muscle car festival, the Australian Muscle Car Masters (MCM), will take place on the June long weekend in 2018, before returning to its traditional home on Father’s Day from 2019 onwards.

Changes to the national motorsport calendar have necessitated the move in 2018, with the event temporarily replacing the Sydney Classic Speed Festival on June 9/10 before retaking its traditional Father’s Day slot on August 31/September 1, 2019.

“Our racing categories are so important to the DNA of Muscle Car Masters, and we’ve worked hard with the category managers to ensure a fantastic race schedule for the 2018 event on the June long weekend,” said Glenn Matthews, CEO of the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club, which runs both the event and Sydney Motorsport Park.

“In a move endorsed by our competitors, spectators and ARDC Members, we will return to our traditional date of Father’s Day in 2019 and beyond.”

The Muscle Car Masters, which is now in its 13th year, celebrates our country’s Muscle Car heritage and the drivers who raced them – and continue to race them!

Categories for the 2018 event include Heritage Touring Cars (Group C & A), Historic Touring Cars (Nb/Nc), National Sports Sedans, Kumho V8 Touring Cars, Historic Sports Cars (Group S), the Trans Am series in conjunction with Trans Am 2 (TA2), and a speed event which will be confirmed in the new year.

Off track, the paddock will again be full of colour and action, with feature displays and tributes, nods to the big muscle car anniversaries of 2018, a meet-and-greet session with legend race drivers, the huge annual show n’ shine, and merchandise alley.

Spectators are admitted free of charge to the competitor’s paddock and undercover grandstand, and kids 15 and under are also free. Early-bird tickets are now on sale – CLICK HERE.

FUELLING THE DRIVE FOR CHANGE          

OFFICIAL RELEASE 04/11/2017: The not-for-profit community aid organisation One Meal – It Makes A Difference launched in Blacktown this month, and is driving change in Western Sydney for the homeless and people in need with the help of the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC).

One Meal – It Makes A Difference is a 100% volunteer based community organisation that helps to feed, clothe and support the homeless and underprivileged across Sydney, from Macarthur through to the Sutherland Shire and the Northern Beaches, and on Saturday November 4 it served up its first meals in Blacktown.

Founded in 2014 with a one-off street service to provide “One Meal” to the needy at Christmas, One Meal – It Makes A Difference has grown into an organisation that provides hundreds of meals to the needy each week across Sydney. Our meal service patrons are provided with breakfast packs to take away and further assisted where possible with clothing items, blankets, toiletries etc.

One Meal – It Makes A Difference works to foster community and positive relationships between individuals, and of course it relies on the generosity of a great many volunteers as well as a number of individual and business sponsors. The expansion of One Meal into the Blacktown area would not have been possible without the amazing support from the local business community.

“Being the operator of Sydney Motorsport Park, which is part of the Western Sydney Parklands, the Australian Racing Drivers Club is always proud to be able to support our local community,” says ARDC CEO Glenn Matthews.

“One Meal is just one of the many ways we can give back to the community, and our new on-site fuel bowsers allow us to provide the fuel for the One Meal van as a means of supporting this great initiative.”

One Meal – It Makes A Difference is also grateful to Heartland Hyundai, who have generously provided a Hyundai i-Load van to run the service, and Right Property Group, a major sponsor for the Western Sydney operations.

MORE ABOUT ONE MEAL – IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE

One Meal’s mission is to provide healthy nutritious meals and a range of human services to the homeless, destitute, impoverished and underprivileged people in our community and to assist in advancing their well-being, outlook on life and prospects for future independence – and to do so with strong ethics and integrity.

For further information, to get involved or to offer your support, please email info@onemeal.org.au – Alternatively, contact us via our website, onemeal.org.au or our Facebook Page http://facebook.com/onemeal14

Moffat and Bond honoured at SMSP

The Great Race, which was started by the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club in 1962 and run by the club for many years, has seen so many amazing motorsport moments, but Ford’s legendary 1-2 finish in the 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 is remembered as one of the greatest.

The #1 Falcon of Allan Moffat paired with Jacky Ickx, and the #2 Falcon of Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton famously paired up to take the chequered flag in first and second place, cementing the moment in history.

The ARDC recognises this great moment in motorsport, and the achievements of former ARDC Board Member Allan Moffat and former ARDC President Colin Bond, with the naming of two turns in their honour at the Club‘s current home, Sydney Motorsport Park.

From October 2017, Turn 1 will be known as Moffat Corner, and Turn 2 as Bond Bend.

Their names join those of Peter Brock, Wayne Gardner and the late Sir Jack Brabham, who have Turn 5, the Gardner GP Circuit, and both the Brabham Extended Circuit and Brabham Straight named after them as a nod to their contributions to the ARDC and to Australian motorsport.

SYDNEY MOTORSPORT PARK’S GP CIRCUIT A SHINING LIGHT IN 2018 VASC CALENDAR

OFFICIAL RELEASE: Supercars has finalised plans to race under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park next August.
The confirmation follows a lighting test held ahead of the Sydney SuperSprint this year and will mark the first Supercars night race on Australian soil since 1997.
Dubbed the Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300, the August 4 event will feature a single 300km race run in a three-hour window from 7-10pm.
“We’ve made no secret we wanted to stage a night race next year and I am delighted to say it is now a reality that we will hold this race under lights in Sydney,” said Supercars CEO James Warburton.
Sydney Motorsport Park CEO, Glenn Matthews, praised Supercars’ determination to make a night race at the venue a reality.
The Supercars event will run with temporary lighting as the circuit continues to lobby the New South Wales State Government for funding to erect permanent lights.
“Sydney Motorsport Park is already open 360 days of the year, and the introduction of circuit lighting and extended operating hours would introduce a whole new level of access for all motorsport and automotive enthusiasts, from after-work racing and spectating, endurance racing, driver and rider safety programs, corporate hospitality, job creation, education, exhibitions, and much more,” said Matthews.
“The Red Rooster Sydney SuperNight 300 is the first exciting step towards making this as a reality.
“Sydney Motorsport Park is one of the busiest sites in Western Sydney, hosting more than 600 events with more than 330,000 visitors coming through our gates annually.
“We want to make Sydney Motorsport Park the premier destination for the industry in Australia – not just for motor racing and motorsport, but for automotive technology, innovation, education, tourism and community engagement.
“We are committed to working with our partners, promoters, and the NSW Government in realising this vision.”