The Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association (HVDRA) and Hidden Valley Drag Strip have been providing ANDRA drag racers with high quality action and amenities in the Northern Territory for decades.
The volunteer-based HVDRA was first established as the King Cobra Rod and Custom Club in 1969 with the objective of promoting Hot Rodding and Drag Racing in the Top End.
Drag Racing initially commenced at the Hughes Landing Field – an abandoned WWII bomber strip – located south of Darwin, but soon after found a home at the abandoned Livingston airstrip beside the Stuart Highway, 54km out of town.
“Even with the isolation and trying conditions at Livingston, events regularly hosted in excess of 1000 spectators and up to 60 competitors,” HVDRA President, Mat Abel, said.
“By 1983 though the 40 year old strip had seen better days and the surface became unsafe for the higher powered cars and bikes. Plans for the future widening of the Stuart Highway ultimately resulted in the suspension of racing at the old strip and a highly successful final meeting was held in August 1983.”
Efforts had been made since 1973 to find a new venue for the sport which was closer to Darwin, and in 1979 an announcement was made by Marshal Perron that a motorsports complex would be established at Hidden Valley, just 15km south of the city.
“A Motor Sports Council was convened to co-ordinate and promote this development and the first stage of the Hidden Valley Drag Strip was completed in 1984,” explained Abel.
“It was designed and constructed strictly in accordance with International Grade drag racing requirements and is completely level over the full quarter mile distance. The track has one percent crossfall to the south and the braking area falls away at one percent from the finish line.
“The Northern Territory Government assisted the club with funding this foundation stage and additional funding and effort was contributed by the club.”
The first race meeting was held at the new Hidden Valley Drag Strip on the 9th of June, 1985.
“The track was officially opened on that day by then Chief Minister Marshall Perron, supported by the Honourable Darryl Manzie and Opposition Leader Terry Smith.
“Officiating was the Club’s President Spike Morrison, who was supported by ANDRA Chief Steward Peter Shields and the South Australian Divisional Director of the time, Keith Burgan.”
Part of the great appeal of the modern-day Hidden Valley Drag Strip is the high-quality lighting.
“The track’s original flood lighting was designed, funded and built by the Club and was commissioned in September of 1986,” Abel said.
“The lighting was to television broadcast standard and was regarded at the time as one of the best lighting installations in the country.
“Then in 1996, highway standard lighting was installed in the braking area – this again this was a club project including design, funding and construction by working bees.
“These great lights did a fantastic job of lighting our circuit until 2018, when a brand-new LED lighting system was installed.”
Over the years, the HVDRA has remained committed to continuously developing the track facilities to the benefit of racers.
“In 1988 we built our multi-level control tower which has 13mm glass in the main control room window and then in 1990 we built the first permanent toilet block on the spectator mound and commenced construction of the canteens and concession outlets.
“Also in 1990 the NT government provided grant assistance to the club to place the hotmix surface on the track. Special high shear strength hotmix was used and was applied using paving machines guided by very tight piano wire to give an exceptionally smooth surface.
“At that stage, the drag strip was shared with the Hidden Valley circuit racing track, but in June of 1997 it was announced that the circuit would be hosting a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship and a budget of approximately $2.5m was allocated for the upgrade of existing circuit racing facilities.
“This funding included a new main straight that ran parallel with the drag strip, which meant that for the first time the drag strip became a dedicated facility and special preparation of the surface for drag racing could be undertaken.
“Other developments under that funding included a triple tier guardrail being erected along the south side of the drag strip and the club also erected triple guardrail along the north side in the braking zone. In 2000 this guardrail was further extended forwards to the 1000ft mark in accordance with new ANDRA standards.”
Later that same year, new Dragtrax timing equipment was installed, bringing the venue into line with other major tracks in Australia.
“The system in 2000 incorporated handicap displays at the startline, recorded times at 60ft, 330ft, 1/8 mile, 1000ft and 1/4 mile plus speeds at 1/8 mile and 1/4 mile. It also had provision for direct internet connection and future digital display boards,” Abel said.
“Just five years later several other improvement projects were undertaken, including doubling the size of the pits with the introduction of a new ring road, the building of a dedicated inspection bay and storage shed, as well as the erection of a new safety fence between the spectator mound and pit area. These projects – all undertaken in 2005 – helped to improve facilities for racers as well as spectator safety.
“We were far from finished however – in July of 2010 construction on an international class upgrade to the Hidden Valley complex commenced and after more than two years of planning, the Hidden Valley Drag Strip was upgraded to include a brand new racing surface, concrete safety walls, improved spectator mounds and a new state-of-the-art Compulink timing system as well as 60″ green LED display boards which were the first of their kind in Australia.
“In November of 2018, the new LED lights were turned on for the first time with the lights previously used for the braking area replaced by the ones originally lighting the Strip. At the same time, the new Fibre Optic Timing system by Compulink was installed, featuring a speed trap at the 1/8th mile distance.
“There is no doubt everyone at the Club has a deep commitment to continuous improvement and that commitment has resulted in the Hidden Valley Drag Strip complex now boasting one of the greatest drag strips in Australia,” said Abel proudly.
When it comes to events, there are plenty of drawcards for both local and interstate racers across the year.
“Off Street Racing has become very popular since it commenced in 2002, with large turnouts of Street Registered cars fronting on a Friday night to race in a safe environment,” Abel said.
“We are also proud to host rounds of the national Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series which are a jewel in the crown of our calendar, alongside other popular events such as Nitro Up North and the NT Titles which are a big drawcard as our racers seek to be crowned as an NT Champion.
“Over the years we have also hosted events such as the Interstate Drag Bike Challenge, Aeroflow Outlaw Nitro Funny Cars, Top Fuelers, Top Doorslammers, Bullet Trucks, Wheelstanding Funny Cars, Nitro Harleys, Jet Cars and Trucks and more.
“The Club may be in a holding pattern at the moment because of the current environment, but we have plenty of exciting plans ahead.
“We had planned in 2020 to have an event as part of the Supercars, and while it was very disappointing when the event was cancelled, I am pleased to report that the NT Major Events department is very keen for the event to happen next year and we will start discussions again in September.”
Anyone that has been involved with drag racing for any length of time knows that any success requires a lot of hard work by dedicated members of our sport.
“Running drag racing events is very time consuming and having a strong and dedicated group of people is the only way you can make it happen,” Abel explained.
“The HVDRA is a non for profit club with a committee of 12 people who all put in a massive effort on a volunteer basis.
“What we are able to achieve in Darwin would simply not be possible without the help of the volunteers on race day. It has been getting harder to get people to volunteer as people are so time poor these days, but we have been incredibly lucky over the years to be supported by some very dedicated volunteers.
“For successful events we need not only volunteers, but also racers, and it is my sincere hope that when restrictions lift we will see racers both past and present coming out of the woodwork to support their sport.”
Alongside committee members, volunteers and racers, the HVDRA and Hidden Valley Drag Strip are also grateful for the generous support of government and business partners.
“The Northern Territory government – the owner of the Hidden Valley Motor Sports Complex – has been a great supporter of drag racing in Darwin and have been a fantastic partner in helping us to develop a truly world-class facility,” Abel said.
“At the same time, MotorsportsNT – the peak body for motorsport in the NT – has always been there for us if we require advice and are very helpful to our club.
“We have also been very lucky to enjoy the long-time support of Shannons Insurance and also local company, Top End Access.”
The Hidden Valley Drag Strip is located in the Hidden Valley Motor Sports Complex in the outer Darwin suburb of Berrimah. The Complex is a multi-discipline facility and alongside the international grade Hidden Valley Drag Strip also features a 2.87km motorcycle and motor car race track, speedway, go-kart and mud racing track; all constructed to national standards.
HVDRA is a volunteer based incorporated association. If you would like to get involved and lend a hand in any way, please use the contacts listed at www.hiddenvalleydrags.com or contact a committee representative by emailing mail@hiddenvalleydrags.com