Street Machine

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I DON’T for a moment wish to downplay the impact COVID-19 has had on Australia and New Zealand, but it seems to me that things may have turned a corner. In terms of the raw number of cases, we’ve done a great job of minimising the spread of the virus relative to most other countries. This has come at a great economic cost to many – including people and businesses dear to us at Street Machine – but it’s pleasing that restrictions have begun to gradually ease. Businesses in many sectors have been able to resume trading (even if not on their usual terms), and that has seen plenty of people return to work, bringing welcome financial relief to families. The road to economic recovery will be long, but it seems…

the search continues

THE pro touring scene has seen a decent growth spurt in Australia in recent years, so it seems fitting that the USA’s premier pro touring event is making its way back to our shores next year, hitting Calder Park Raceway over the weekend of 20-21 February. The Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car (OSUSC) is revered around the world as one of the hardest and most well-rounded events for pro tourers, pitting competitors against each other in a variety of tests including drag racing, autokhana, speed stop and circuit time trials. Last year saw the first OSUSC event in Australia take place at Calder Park, the day after the conclusion of our own gruelling street car marathon, Street Machine Drag Challenge. But while events like Drag Challenge and Hot Rod Drag…

hot gossip

NATS FANTASTIC! JANUARY’S Street Machine Summernats 33 might have been the fastest-selling edition of Australia’s favourite horsepower party in history, but according to the ’Nats team, that mark has just been surpassed. Entrant passes for Street Machine Summernats 34, which are limited to 2000 in total, are already more than three-quarters sold as we go to print, with the remaining spots likely to go very soon. If you’re planning on bringing your ride to Canberra in January, we suggest you head to the Summernats website and secure your spot today. CALDER GETS LAID THERE’S been a great deal of unrest in the drag racing community of late – and bastard coronavirus certainly hasn’t helped – but here’s some good news. Calder Park Raceway is making the most of the downtime, using it to…

smoke signals!

STOP the press! Our mates at Summernats have teamed up with Sydney Dragway to stage the first major post-coronavirus car event, and it’s got us more than a little excited. Burnout Masters will see some of the toughest skid cars on the planet converge on Sydney Dragway on 18-19 July to compete for prize money and golden tickets into the Burnout Masters final at Street Machine Summernats 34. With safety measures around COVID-19 still an important consideration, the event will be an entrant-only affair, but the action will be livestreamed so that you can watch it from your lounge room as it happens. How cool is that! Entries are now open, with big-hitters like Jake Myers, Phil Kerjean and Mick Brasher (the latter debuting his brand-new blown 13B combo) already confirming they’ll be…

simon adrichem

The PB with the car is a 9.82@139mph, and funnily enough it actually goes quickest when it goes wheels-up SEPTEMBER last year saw some of the world’s wildest machines descend on Sydney Dragway for the first World Fuel Altered Challenge. While the altereds were the central attraction, plenty of gassers from around the country came along to rattle some eardrums and wow the crowds with their mad stance and open headers, including Simon Adrichem’s wheelstanding 1950 FX Holden. What’s the story behind your FX? I got the car eight years ago, and it was already set up as a gasser. I actually got it from the Ford brothers in Melbourne as a rolling shell. Back then it was known as ‘Bad News’. I’d always been into nostalgia racing, and at the time I…

the cars that ate paris 1974

LONG before he hit the big time in Hollywood with flicks like Dead Poets Society and The Truman Show, Australian director Peter Weir’s first feature film was this low-budget, pitch-black comedy/horror, and it’s a beaut. The Waldo brothers, Arthur (Camilleri) and George (Scully), are driving their EK Holden through rural Australia, hoping to find work. As night is falling, they spot a sign advising of employment in a town called Paris, so they follow the directions down a winding dirt road. But a sudden blast of bright light blinds driver George and the EK careens down a slope, killing him. After waking up in Paris’s hospital, the shell-shocked Arthur is taken under the wing of the town’s mayor (Meillon), who lets him stay with him and his wife Beth (Jaffer) and two…