Revheads on track for Racewars

Revheads from across Australia will converge in Albany this weekend for a third, highly anticipated Racewars car event.

Streets will likely be filled with much-loved and well-tuned speed machines from Friday to Monday, as enthusiasts and their cars hit the Great Southern for three days of motor sport.

As many as 1000 tourists in three convoys could arrive in Albany on Friday afternoon, trekking from Perth for one of WA’s biggest motor racing events.

Event organisers hope for as many as 10,000 attendees at Saturday and Sunday’s drag event at Albany Regional Airport.

From 8am on Saturday, gates at the runway will open to spectators for the quarter-mile and half-mile drag racing competition, which will run until about 6.30pm.

Then from 8.30am on Sunday, competitors in half-mile and 1km drag races will get the green light at the runway, until about 6pm before a Due South awards night at 7pm.

These precede a first-of-its-kind sprint up Marine Drive from 8am on Monday, where competitors will race against the clock in a hill climb from Middleton Beach to the National Anzac Centre.

While spectators are prohibited along Marine Drive, viewing will be possible from Middleton Beach.

The free-to-watch hill climb drew major interest immediately after its announcement, with competitor tickets reportedly selling out within 24 hours.

Motor-racing enthusiast Jarred Pizzi, 25, will be trekking from Perth for his fifth Racewars.

“The event always has a great atmosphere and makes for an awesome weekend of motorsport,” he said.

Roads around Middleton Beach will be closed for 24 hours from midnight on Sunday for the hill climb.

These include parts of Flinders Parade, Adelaide Crescent, Marine Terrace, Marine Drive, Burgoyne and Forts roads.

The Middleton Beach boardwalk will be closed all Monday, and the use of drones prohibited.

Racewars chief executive Jon Murray said the event’s uniqueness was what made it so popular.

“It’s the only place in Australia where you can go door-to-door over half a mile,” he said.

“For spectators, it’s just a fun, inclusive time when you can get to see Australia’s fastest and finest vehicles — see them, hear them, occasionally go for a ride.”