21 Ocotber 2010
Work is well underway for Hidden Valley's brand new drag strip and there is already talk in the pipeline of what this has in store for Hidden Valley in the future.
Starting July this year, contractor MacMahon’s was tasked with construction for the $4.5 million upgrade which was jointly funded by the Federal and Territory Government.
Vice President of Hidden Valley Drag Racing Association, Jay Jukes was all praise for the work that has occurred so far.
“It has taken over two years of planning with a lot of hard work by the HVDRA committee and Government departments” said Jukes. “It will be great to see it finished.”
Incorporating a brand new racing surface, crash barriers, state of the art timing system and a dedicated burnout facility the upgrades are the first major work to the venue since it was built in 1984.
With the construction of the new burnout pad, HVDRA is hosting a competition to give the pad a fitting name, with all details at www.hiddenvalleydrags.com.
The improvements to the venue also pave the way for a potential Australian National Drag racing Association (ANDRA) Pro Series round to come to Darwin, with ANDRA CEO Tony Thornton and Drag Racing Australian Group CEO Paul Casos expected to visit Darwin next week to inspect the progress.
“The ANDRA Pro Series has experienced solid growth and increasing television and sponsor interest. It has been nearly 20 years since ANDRA Championship Drag Racing rounds came to Darwin and we are exploring opportunities to remedy that.” said ANDRA CEO Tony Thornton.
“The work done by the HVDRA and the support from the NT and Federal Governments is delivering a great result and the Hidden Valley International Dragstrip will be an even greater asset to Darwin and the sport of drag racing nationally.” Thornton said.
Construction is due for completion before Christmas and the first drag racing events will fire up in April 2011.