THESE ARE OUR PEOPLE

IN A CULTURE OVERFLOWING WITH POSERS AND TRY-HARDS, WE FIND A HAVEN FOR THOSE THAT LOVE DRIVING ABOVE ALL ELSE

- CAMERON KIRBY

SUNDAY MORNING, 8:30 AM. A congregation has amassed, ready for today's sermon from their community leaders. Communion will be shared later, but first an edict is passed down. The usual lectures on morality and theological teachings are entirely absent, replaced by light-hearted but serious reminders about tow hooks and warnings of low-grip grass. Instead of worshipping any of the traditional deities, this congregation is laying praise at the altar of the discount-driving gods. Worship will be conducted at redline. Welcome, to the Nugget Nationals.

MOTOR has travelled to Victoria's Gippsland region to observe and immerse ourselves in the art of driving cheap cars faster than you ever thought possible or reasonable. The Nugget Nationals is grassroots motorsport at its finest. The recipe is devilishly simple. Cars purchased for less than $3000, a modest budget for modifications, no fiddling with engines, and a capacity limit of 1500cc. If you spent more than $5000 on your car (excluding safety equipment) it's not a Nugget. Simple. There is a whole, comprehensive rulebook that sets out the finer details, but that is all you really need to know in order to understand the Nugget Nationals. Instead of competing wheel-to-wheel, drivers enter their Nuggets at a series of time trial events, with points awarded accordingly.