2017 Geelong Revival
This past 25-26 November saw everything from a 1923 Aston Martin to a 2017 Holden Commodore on show - and in action - on Geelong’s waterfront for the sixth running of the Geelong Revival Motoring Festival.
Past & Present
The Geelong Revival has its roots in the Geelong Speed Trials, which started in 1956 and saw Ritchie Boulevard, a public road on Geelong’s waterfront, turned into a timed quarter mile sprint course. The sprints ran for almost five decades, attracting road and competition cars of all types to take on the unique challenge of the curved quarter mile track.
In 2012, the sprints returned in the form of the Geelong Revival, honouring the original event, but bringing new features and its own style.
Beyond the sprints, the modern Revival includes the pre-weekend City Cruise, the Shannons Classic Motorshow car displays, trade stands, market stalls, a fashion show, vintage caravan display, kids’ entertainment and other touches that have made the event a true family festival and not just a haven for revheads!
Making the Climb
Another example of the evolution and expansion of the Revival is the Festival Hillclimb, which was introduced in 2016 and has already become a popular part of the weekend. The course may be short, but it’s challenging, with hairpin turns and a mix of elevations, before a narrow chute to the finish. It’s competitive, too, as the Festival Hillclimb serves as Round 1 of the 2018 Victorian Hillclimb Championship.
For 2017, the hillclimb course at Eastern Park, only a few minutes’ walk from the sprint track, was upgraded and improved, offering more for spectators and competitors alike.
The hillclimb attracted more than 100 entrants across a range of classes; everything from a classic Alpine A110 to a modern Toyota 86, as well as rally-spec sports sedans (Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi Evo, etc.), open wheelers (including Formula Vee and Formula Libre – usually the quickest cars), Improved Production cars and more.
There were also some oddities, like an ’82 Ford Laser with 4WD, Opel Monza and even a Proton Satria!
French Flavour
After its debut at the 2016 Revival, the awesome Renault Megane Trophy V6 made its return for 2017, with Supercar driver Dean Canto behind the wheel.
Drawing attention every time it took to the sprint course, this car was originally created for a one-make race series in Europe. The ‘Megane’ name for this competition machine is something of a misnomer, though, as it shares only its lights and windscreen with the roadgoing Megane R.S.
The heavily-altered body panels are all made from composite material and sit upon a bespoke spaceframe chassis, while the 3.5-litre V6 engine is mid-mounted. Driving the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox, the Megane Trophy V6 weighs only 955kg and outputs around 283kW and 390Nm. Compared to a GT3 or F3 car in the way it drives and handles, Canto’s best time in this machine (against Porsches, a 2012 FPV GT and drag-spec HQ Monaro in the Invited class), was a 12.4946.
The Megane Trophy V6 was part of a larger display from Renault Australia, one of the Geelong Revival’s major sponsors.
Welcoming the HTCAV
JUST CARS’ support for last year’s Geelong Revival dovetailed nicely with our sponsorship of the Historic Touring Car Association of Victoria, the result being that the Revival organisers added an exclusive category – the JUST CARS Power Pass – to the 2017 program for the HTCAV boys and invited guests.
A number of HTCAV regulars brought their cars down to the waterfront city for the event, with familiar names from the series including Chris Stern (Ford Mustang), Vince Parisi (Morris Oxford), David Forbes (Ford XK Falcon) and Colin Larsen (Ford XY Falcon), while Nathan Gordon swapped his Torana for a late-model Porsche 911.
The competitiveness displayed in HTCAV competition translated to the sprints, with Gordon making the most of his “modern” advantage to claim the fastest time in the first two Power Pass runs, while the final saw Tom Kenworthy rip out a seriously impressive 11.1987 in a Mercedes AMG GT-S; a fair bit quicker than his regular mount, a ’64 Mini Cooper S!
Of the actual historic touring cars running in the Power Pass, Colin Larsen (Ford XY Falcon GTHO) claimed the best result with a 12.3670.
Purple People Eater
With the weekend divided into two main categories: Moderns on Saturday; and Historics on Sunday, the quickest sprint times usually come on the opening day. Such as the case in 2017, when a McLaren 675LT and Porsche GT3 RS set sub 11-second times, while an Audi RS7’s first run of 10.3685 was also its last when the driver misjudged his braking point and hit the barriers, fortunately without injury.
Also running under 11 seconds early was Kevin Mackrell in his Datsun 260Z. While it was listed in the program as a 1970 model, this bold purple machine was far removed from anything Datsun offered from the factory that year. With a 5.0-litre V8, sequential-shift transmission, all-wheel drive and radically-altered braking, suspension and bodywork, this beast is a hillclimb and time attack specialist. Putting out something in the region of 600kW.
That sub-11 first run gave a taste of things to come, with the purple Datsun going under 10 seconds in his next run, then a 9.2884 which would not only prove to be Fastest Time of the Day, but also the best official time across the entire weekend.
The date for this year’s Geelong Revival has been set: 23-25 November. Go to: geelongrevival.com.au for updates and further details.
