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Editorial comment by Graeme Wilson

I am feeling the vibe that drag racing in Australia is entering a new phase of enthusiasm after being in the doldrums for so long.

Hot Rumour - Another New Drag Strip for SA at Kadina - by Graeme Wilson

The hot rumour going around is that there is a new drag strip being planned for Kadina at the top of the Yorke Peninsula. Several sources have said that planning applications are being made, and that the various government and council bodies are agreeable. Watch this space.

Most of the South Australian Drag Racing Association Members at the June 2019 Monthly Meeting.

New Drag Strip at Tailem Bend
Latest News by Graeme Wilson

2019-06-05. I had the privilege of going to a community information event at The Bend on Wednesday night to hear the latest news from Sam Shahin, Managing Director of The Bend Motorsport Park.

There were about 70 - 80 visitors, mostly local business people with interests in food and accomodation, and several motor racing individuals. There were few drag racers, obviously being so close to the Winternationals

The main discussions were:

• What The Bend is doing for circuit racing, bikes, go-karting, drifting and drag racing, and other events like the last Scout Jamboree.
• How the locals will benefit from supplying food and accommodation, and some of the food/accommodation patterns that have developed just from the recent events. There is huge scope for those in the food and accommodation area.
• Whether there could be trains traveling from Adelaide to The Bend, and what future plans there were for train travel, including from interstate. More investigation has to be done. The Bend has two railway lines on its boundaries. Accessing either would mean crossing a road.
• There was no mention of buses from Adelaide, which will have to be investigated.
• The "improbability" of an aerodrome at this stage, just due to cost. (But watch this space.)
• Sam Shahin elaborated on the sheer costs of getting The Bend established and that everything costs twice as much or more than originally calculated, and unforseen things like how difficult it is just to grow grass, considering that The Bend is sitting on 9 metres of limestone.
• Then the difficulty in getting ANY round of ANY event to The Bend. There is obviously jealousy from ALL other motor racing venues in competing for annual events, irrespective of what they are. We drag racers just cannot comprehend the jealousy and lack of cooperation that exists in other forms of motor sport.
• Significant time was given to the fact that the go-kart track is International Standard, and how keen The Bend was to get an international event here. There is no other track in Australia that meets this standard.
• Finally, the subject of the drag strip came up. It is going ahead. The aiming point for first race is March 2020. That's the aiming point. Expect delays. There was no discussion about what the track would be made of, that is, how much concrete vs asphalt, whether it would be water cooled etc. It is to be a new strip, between the original drag strip and the Dukes Highway. There are dirt (limestone) mounds visible on Google Earth, if you copy and paste these coordinates into Google Earth, -35.296140 139.494716 so work has begun.
• One of the visitors explained to all just how willing drag racers are to travel, thinking nothing of several trips interstate per year, and that he was planning to go to Whyalla, Mildura, Swan Hill, Alice Springs and Darwin in the very near future, just to race. Sam was obviously not aware just how keen drag racers are to travel, to race and to spectate.
• I raised the subject of how lacking in news and information the web site was. It appears to not have been updated since it was first written. Sam has assured us that it will improve.

Pix

Swan Hill Opening Day 2016-11-26

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