Sun might not be out, but guns are. Photo: James Coleman.
It sounded distant at first, but Summernats 36 kicked off today by charging the city’s air with a full 15 minutes of internal-combustion roar.
More than 500 cars cruised down Northbourne Avenue from Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPIC) as the opening salvo to four days of Australia’s biggest car festival, with burnout competitions, mullet competitions, rock concerts and more cruises to come.
Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez says this will “undoubtedly be the biggest Summernats ever”.
Rumbling back down Northbourne Avenue. Photo: James Coleman.
The number of entrants topped out at 2500 cars as early as May, and more than 120,000 spectators are expected through the gates between now and Sunday, “bringing $35 million worth of economic impact to the ACT in what would otherwise be a fairly quiet time of the year”.
“It shows off Canberra in a different light to Australia and around the world,” Andy says.
“Of those 120,000 people who’ve come here, 85 per cent are from out of state.”
Back at EPIC, Queanbeyan’s Sandner family is wiping the last skerricks of dust off their 1977 Holden Torana LX.
“In a sense, it’s pretty much a third child,” Jason Sandner says.
Jason has become a Summernats regular since his first as a high-schooler in the late 1980s. He was driving a heavily modified Suzuki Swift when he met his now wife, Tanya. The couple have two children, who both helped turn the Torana from an ordinary brown sedan to the immaculate ‘Opaline Blue’ machine it is today, complete with fat 12-inch wheels, an all-new interior and a purpose-built aluminium racing engine.
Jason and Xavier Sandner and the 1977 Holden LX Torana. Photo: Tanya Sandner.
“It was a good four-year build process for Jason to strip it down, do all the undercarriage and body, and then obviously reassemble,” Tanya recalls.
“It was hard while the kids were little because he’d be in his workshop for an extra hour each day, but our son would go along as soon as he could walk and we have photos of him there in his nappy, helping dad with a rag in his hand.”
It’s not actually an SLR 5000, but looks very cool anyway. Photo: Tanya Sandner.
The finished product was unveiled to the Summernats crowd in 2014, but during the scrutineering process this year, it was selected to be among the Top 60 cars to again have a place undercover in the hallowed Pavilion building.
Winning Grand Champion would bring tears to his eyes, but just being here in the hall is a “massive achievement” and enough for Jason.
“I’ve always helped my brother with his cars and he’s had his Commodore in the hall quite a few times, so for me to gain that level of success is massive.”
Over the years, the biggest change to Summernats they’ve noticed has been improvements to the calibre of the cars.
“Look, it’s like anything, where there are a bit of shenanigans that go with crowds, but it’s no different to your average cricket or football match,” Tanya says.
“You walk around and see so many families and young children that are just so engrossed.”
This year’s Summernats also brings an expanded ‘Fringe Festival’ to Braddon on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. And on Friday night, the main stage will be taken up by Daryl Braithwaite and the Screaming Jets (replacing Jimmy Barnes) and Grinspoon.
Mullets are a mainstay at Summernats but behold the ‘skullet’. Photo: James Coleman.
ACT Policing and NSW Police have jointly issued a formidable warning to anyone looking to engage in “antisocial behaviour” over the event.
“We’ll have a zero tolerance towards antisocial driving or antisocial behaviour,” ACT Policing’s Acting Superintendent Rod Anderson says.
“We’ve brought in extra resources at EPIC as well as the surrounding area … If motorists are detected doing burnouts, we’ll be seizing their vehicles, and I can tell you, we have plenty of room to store as many vehicles as we can.”
Day passes are still available on the Summernats website.
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