2019 QUEENSCLIFF ROD RUN

Words & Photos: Mike Ryan

Since it was first held in 1998, the annual Queenscliff Rod Run has become a must-do on the summer calendar for rodders far and wide.

The combination of a full programme of activities, professional organisation and a great seaside location has seen rodders, along with custom and classic car owners, return year after year.

While the Rod Run’s been a regular success in the past, the 2019 event, held from the 1st to the 3rd of February, was arguably one of the best ever.

The Change for Good

The Rod Run’s always big, and thanks to the efforts of organising club, the Geelong Street Rodders, it runs smoothly, too. But there’s always room for improvement and evolution, so the club looked at recent events and made some tweaks to this year’s programme. In the minds of many, especially those who entered, these changes made the 2019 Rod Run an altogether better event without compromising its size or impact.

Freeing up space on the traditional – and extremely popular – Saturday night cruise was one of the benefits of these changes, with more space in the Sunday display day, too.

700 Plus

This year’s Queenscliff Rod Run saw just over 700 vehicles entered, which equated to around 2,000+ people when spouses, kids, etc., were added in to the mix.

The weekend kicked off with the Geelong Street Rodders holding a BBQ for entrants on Friday, 1st February at Queenscliff Reserve. Rod Run first-timers were welcomed here, while veterans of the event caught up to discuss new cars, old cars and current projects.

On the following day, entrants could cruise to one of two local attractions – Adventure Park water theme park with plenty of activities for the kids, or the Portarlington Golf Course - with a free lunch provided at both venues. This year, the former attracted more than 1,000 entrants, with around 450 at the latter.

While the cruising to these venues is cool, most everyone loves the Saturday evening cruise that follows, where entrants cut slow laps through the main street of Queenscliff, while rockabilly band, the Shane Magro Combo, provides the soundtrack as day turns to night.

If you caught JUST CARS’ livestream of this year’s cruise, you’ll have seen plenty of cool cars in action – and maybe spotted a mate or two, as well.

While spectators line Queenscliff’s main drag for the cruise, just as many return the next day for the Show ‘n’ Shine.

Sunshine Show

Like the rest of this year’s Queenscliff Rod Run, the Sunday show ‘n’ shine was a pretty-relaxed event, held right near the water at Princess Park. There were no roped-off displays, no aggro security and no attitudes. With a cool breeze coming off the ocean and the Shane Magro Combo once again providing the tunes, it was a great place to be.

The local Lions Club run the gate for public entry, with all takings going to this charitable organisation, which holds true to the Geelong Street Rodders’ efforts in supporting the local community.

Beyond the cars – hundreds of ’em! – to check out inside Princess Park, there were trade stands to peruse and merchandise to purchase, along with ice cream and food stalls, plus the chance to win some great goodies in the raffle.

Of course, you could also just kick back in the shade and let the day roll by before it was time for the trophy announcements. But the sad part about that is that it meant the Rod Run was over for another year.

Limited to a top ten and a selection of sponsor’s choices, the trophy presentations run to ASRF rules, but were just as chilled as the rest of the show, which is a good thing.

Get set for 2020

If we’ve sold you on the virtues of this year’s Queenscliff Rod Run, make sure you don’t miss next year’s event. The 2020 Queenscliff Rod Run will be held from the 31st January to 2nd February, with entries open from late-October. To find out more, go to: geelongstreetrodders.com.au

Thanks to Greg Morrissey of the Geelong Street Rodders for assistance in compiling this article.