2017 Adelaide Motorsport Festival

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival is a museum in motion, bringing together an eclectic mix of historic, classic and modern vehicles from across the spectrum of motorsport. In the heart of the city of Adelaide, using a section of the famous Formula One street circuit in Victoria Park, the event combines on-track competition, hot laps and demonstrations with static displays, trade stands and the best of South Australian food, wine and hospitality.

The Festival itself takes place on December 9 and 10, with the associated Adelaide Rally beginning on December 7, taking in the serpentine roads of the nearby Adelaide Hills, Barossa Valley and Fleurieu Peninsula before the final stage at the Festival on the Saturday evening.

The Festival makes its presence felt in the centre of the city on the Friday night, with a cavalcade of several million dollars’ worth of historic vehicles, including Formula One, Heritage Touring Cars and modern supercars driving under police escort to the Gouger Street restaurant precinct, where the public can see them up close, meet the drivers and enjoy a lively street party to get the event off to a flying start.

Over the weekend, spectators can expect to see exciting on-track action, including the Victoria Park Sprint. This competition is held over two days, with categories for open-wheelers, touring cars, sports and racing cars from the 1930s to today, with a strong focus on pre-1996 models. Competitors take to the track to race against the clock in groups of 14 cars, with categories including Porsche Through the Ages, Historic Sports Sedans, Heritage Touring Cars, Ferrari, 4WD Turbo, High Performance Street and Time Attack.

Adelaide’s Formula One history is well known, and the return of F1 cars to the former street circuit is always popular. This year’s lineup includes Gerhard Berger’s 1986 Benetton B186, Alan Jones’s 1980 Williams, An Arrows A21 tested by Mark Webber and raced by Jos Verstappen, and a Mario Andretti March 701 from 1970. Many of these cars will be driven by current and former Supercars drivers, including tow-times Bathurst winner John Bowe, and 2017 Sandown 500 winner Cameron Waters.

On the Sunday, the Rally Legends Demonstration will see spirited driving of some legendary rally cars, including the fearsome S1 Audi Quattro, an original Group B Renault R5 Turbo, and Irish sensation Frank Kelly in his often-airborne and always sideways ‘Baby Blue’ MkII Escort.

You don’t need to be a motorsport enthusiast to enjoy the day, with plenty of off-track attractions making this Festival family-friendly for all ages. A gourmet food and wine area features fine South Australian, nostalgic static displays of cars and bikes, trade stands and demonstrations. Luxury Marques including Ferrari, Aston Martin, BMW, Audi and McLaren are also there with their latest models, many of which have not been seen in public in this country before.

In all, more than 700 vehicles take part in the Festival, with more than 200 hitting the track for spirited sessions and competition. They’re joined by 250 cars from the Adelaide Rally, and a lineup of pre-1985 motorcycles on display and on-track.

One of the things that sets the Adelaide Motorsport Festival apart is the friendly, casual atmosphere and accessibility of cars and drivers. With the pitlane open to the public, spectators can see the vehicles up close, as well as chatting with the owners and drivers between events. Two-time Bathurst winner John Bowe and Supercars legend Craig Lowndes will be joined by young guns Tim Slade and Sandown 500 winner Cameron Waters. Three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss will also be there to ride some hot laps and mingle with the crowds.

All this takes place in the Adelaide CBD, making it easy to get to and from the event, and adult tickets are just $30 for a day or $50 for the entire weekend. Children’s tickets cost just $5 and are valid for the entire weekend – they’re even transferrable, so one child can attend on one day and pass their ticket to a friend for the next. It’s affordable family fun with a big dose of history and a high-octane twist.

If a premium experience is more your speed, the Aston Martin VIP suite offers a prime trackside viewing position, with catering by celebrity chef Simon Bryant, the Udder Delights Cheese Bar, Applewood Distillery Gin Bar, Deviation Road Winery Sparkling Salon and Riposte Wines by Tim Knappstein. This ultra-premium hospitality package is exclusive, with extremely limited numbers that sell out every year.

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival has grown into Australia’s premiere historic motorsport event, and this year promises to be the biggest one yet. Make sure you don’t miss out – book your tickets online now at www.adelaidemotorsportfestival.com.au

Race to the City

On a damp Wednesday night in September, the streets of Adelaide received an unexpected visit from some star cars and drivers. Three classic Formula One cars, an original 1977 Holden Dealer Team Torana and a Ducati Superbike were driven through the CBD, surprising drivers and pedestrians and bringing people out of restaurants, bars and apartments to investigate the sound of high performance engines echoing through the city. It was all to promote the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, with camera crews in place to capture the action for a short film that has so far been seen by more than 1.4 million people around the world. You can watch the film here: https://www.adelaidemotorsportfestival.com.au/spectators/race-to-the-city