Seventy and still strong

The Australian Racing Drivers’ Club was a pivotal player in the revival and development of motorsport in NSW after the second world war. Later, its stewardship of the annual Bathurst 500/1000 over more than 30 years helped consolidate that iconic race and the professional Supercars category we enjoy today. As this grand old club celebrates 70 years, AMC reflects on the long history of the ARDC.

Images: Paul Cross Collection, Ray Berghouse, Chevron Archive, Bill Forsyth, Brendon Thorne

After the trauma and dislocation of World War II, motorsport in NSW resumed surprisingly quickly. A hillclimb was conducted on part of the Mount Panorama circuit in January, 1946, and the full circuit was used for a race meeting in October. That was a whole five years after the circuit last saw any racing action. Then in 1950, ARDC foundation member Belf Jones took out a lease on the wartime airstrip at Mount Druitt, west of Sydney. Large drums were used to separate the cars (running in each direction on the strip) and form a long oval. Sometimes the drums were used to incorporate chicanes and to introduce sweeping corners. The drivers of the time were glad to be able to race again after the war, but even so they were not…

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Australian Muscle Car (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 131

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