Canberra-based car club, Southern District Motorsports Association (SDMA) returns to action this weekend with the club hosting its first hill climb since the start of what has been a long year.
Taking place at Fairbairn Park Hillclimb Circuit, the club’s first major event since COVID-19 restrictions were eased around Canberra has attracted many of its members as they look to get out and compete in their first event for the year.
With around 60 entrants expected to attend and each to get around five runs at the course, there is a lot of excitement building around the event, especially with the highly decorated Zac Le Lievre.
From hill climb purpose built vehicles like Le Lievre's to road cars made up of Subaru WRXs, MX5s and Porsche GT3s and less experienced drivers behind the wheel, there is plenty of diversity amongst the healthy field.
For the club’s main event planner Daniel Cummins, having less experienced people along with stars like Le Lievre makes the event worthwhile for people to come and enjoy themselves.
“We have a lot of people who just want to have some fun to people that take the event fairly seriously, which is great,” Cummins said.
“We’re excited to see Zac compete this weekend as he has an impressive Megabusa and he will use this event as a tester for it. It’s great to have someone like him come and compete because people love watching him.
“We usually have around 60 competitors, but due to a few different COVID-19 hotspots being around the area, we are just short of that. But we’re still confident we will get more before the event begins.”
Like most clubs looking to run events during these trying times, the Southern District Motorsports Association has worked closely with Motorsport Australia in a bid to meet the certain requirements needed to run the event with no issues.
And Cummins believed it was an important process that wasn’t difficult once you got your head around it
“It’s been a pretty straight forward process to be honest,” Cummins said.
“It’s been a matter of going through each checkpoint and ticking items off. Originally it seemed a bit daunting but once you go through it all, it comes together pretty easily and without complications.
“That said, it’s been a bit of challenge as it’s been a lot more involved than usual, but our main goal was putting together a plan that looked after our officials, helpers and competitions to avoid even the slightest of chances of someone getting sick.
“Having completed the standard event amendments to make sure we fit in with the Motorsport Australia Return to Race document, we also found that there are a lot of positives to come into play, like electronic scrutineering, and we’re hoping to continue this once life gets back to normal.”
The Southern District Motorsports Association’s hill climb takes place at Fairbairn Park Hillclimb Circuit on 9 August.
Other events around Australia
Century Batteries Wynarka Enduro
Summit Racing Team Car Club Inc
8-9 August
Multiclub Motorkhana
Lower Blue Mountains Christian Car Club Incorporated
8 August
August State Khanacross
Westlakes Automobile Club Inc
8 August
Targa South West
Targa West Pty Ltd
8 August
Round 2 RD Technik Bitumen Khanacross
FNQ Motorsports Club Inc
8-9 August
Ringwood State Hillclimb
MG Car Club (Newcastle) Inc
8-9 August
JDP Day 2 & SDCC Multiclub Khanacross Rd 3
Southern Districts Car Club Inc
8-9 August
Rosel Park Khanacross
Central Qld Motor Sporting Club Inc
8-9 August
Winter Cup 1
Sporting Car Club Of SA Inc
9 August
Hazelvale Khanacross
Barrier Sporting Car Club Inc
9 August
August Club Day
Light Car Club of Tasmania
9 August
NSW State Championship Motorkhana Round 8
Mazda MX-5 Club Of New South Wales Incorporated
9 August
Zestino Motorsport Australia State Supersprint Championship Round 4
NSW Road Racing Club Ltd
9 August
Tasmanian Motorkhana Championship
MG Car Club Of Tasmania Inc
9 August
Round 8, 2020 Club Championship
Douglas Shire Motor Sport Association Inc
9 August
August Khanacross
Bathurst Light Car Club Ltd
9 August
BMW Drivers Club 2020 Annual Supersprint Championship Round 5
BMW Drivers Club NSW Incorporated
9 August
Trezona Accounting Motorkhana
Central Australian Rally Sports Club Inc
9 August