The Adelaide Motorsport Festival held its inaugural event in 2014. I recall attending said event and being blown away by all the significant cars displayed and activities occurring on track. This was Australia’s take on a Goodwood Festival of Speed inspired event with homage to the former Adelaide Grand Prix; and it was held right here in South Australia.
I made a mental note that annual attendance of this event was a must but that was the last time such thought was held. AMF 2015 was missed as some friends and I attended the Big Bang – Made concert in Sydney. For some bizarre reason, I’d find myself in Sydney (again) for WTAC the same weekend as AMF 2016 and in 2017, I was once again in (you guessed it) Sydney for the inaugural Hot Import Nights tuner show.
Despite being absent from the Adelaide Motorsport Festival for three consecutive years, my automotive calendar stars miraculously aligned for 2018. As a teaser to the AMF weekend, I found myself in town to watch the Peak Hour of Power parade.
It was incredible to witness the amazing machinery above – which mind you, are all not street legal in Australia – driving together in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD during rush hour. As they made their way over to Gouger Street (Adelaide’s Chinatown precinct), so too did many of the competitors who were competing in the accompanying 3-day Adelaide Rally tour.
This occasion marked the first public appearance in Australia where all three Holy Trinity members were simultaneously present. What’s even more extraordinary is that all three hyper cars pictured – LaFerrari, P1 and 918 Spyder – all reside locally in Adelaide and belong to one esteemed collector.
Rare automobiles are not Adelaide Motorsport Festival’s only attraction. Celebrity drivers such as Craig Lowndes, Alister McRae, Jim Richards, Tim Slade and John Bowe were also in attendance and mingling with fans. Pictured below is former F1-driver, Ivan Capelli and the very same Leyton House March CG891 he raced in Adelaide as part of the 1989 Formula One season.
I’m sure many Porsche enthusiasts would’ve enjoyed the sight of not one, but two ex-Le Mans 962 race cars parked together.
You can find amateur driver Nick Streckeisen and his very quick R35 GT-R at most time attack based events here in Adelaide. Nick even managed a podium finish in his class at World Time Attack Challenge 2014 in this very R35, only being beaten by the HKS R35 and Top Secret R35 which were driven by professionals NOB Taniguchi and Tarzan Yamada.
Adelaide may not be the largest city in Australia. Despite this, it’s home to an exceptionally rich motoring culture with plenty of exclusive automobiles residing in garages all around the state. One such car is this Cooper T51 – the actual car piloted by Sir Jack Brabham during the 1959 Formula One season. The 1959 season’s final round was held at Sebring International Raceway, Florida and despite Brabham leading for most of the race, his T51 ran out of fuel on the very final lap. He held enough championship points where completion of the race – no matter what positioned he finished in – meant that Brabham would become champion. With that in mind, he hopped out of the mid-engine open wheeler and pushed his T51 to victory. Brabham secured his first World Driver’s Championship that very day and became the first Aussie to do so.
It’s pleasant to see the GU Auto Concepts built Liberty Walk R35 back in Adelaide. It was sold to a Melbourne owner and resided there for a few years before being re-sold back to an Adelaide-based owner. Accompanying the R35 were some fellow GU prepped wide-bodied vehicles including this bonkers Liberty Walk-kitted Ferrari 360.
Having missed the entire event for three consecutive years, attending the Friday night Gouger Street party was a prefect way to kick start my 2018 Adelaide Motorsport Festival experience. In the next post, I’ll highlight what caught my eyes as part of the main event held at Victoria Park that following weekend.
