GAME DAY

AFTER STAGE ONE OF AN $11 MILLION REFURBISHMENT, SYDNEY DRAGWAY IS GO! WE DROPPED BY FOR A TOUR AND TO CHECK OUT OPENING NIGHT

- ANDREW BROADLEY

THERE are not a great many positives to have come about from this whole COVID-19 malarkey, but in a strange way it was well-timed for Sydney Dragway. Plans were already well advanced for an extensive refurbishment of the facility this year thanks to an $11 million grant from the NSW State Government. So no matter which way you slice it, the place was going to be closed to the public anyway as it became more of a construction site than a drag strip.

As it happened, most of the refurbishment was able to take place while the coronavirus had our country by the short and curlies, so now we have a killer new surface within a magnificently upgraded facility, and have not had to forgo much actual drag racing for the privilege.

The Race 4 Real event that took place on Wednesday, 4 November gave punters their first opportunity to sample the new track, and it was also the first event for new Race 4 Real naming-rights sponsor, Aeroflow. I got my backside trackside a couple of hours before the lanes opened to be given the grand tour by Sydney Dragway’s Rusty Gregory.

“It’s our first time on the track in months, and there’s been a lot of work and a lot of money spent by the State Government in that time,” Rusty said.

The whole property has had a pretty extensive birthday, but it’s the new track that’s of most interest to racers. And I say “new track” because that’s exactly what it is; the old track was completely removed, and a new one laid in its place.