I wondered what had happened to Catalina Race Track. I went to many races there, both track & Rally-cross. A young Peter Brock was spectacular in his Torana in the Rally-cross. Thankyou for this video.
The main straight reminds me of the kink on the straight at Spa when I think about it, a fast curving dip down, then the fast rise up to a fast corner over the crest as the car gets lighter.
I walked the old Rallycross track about 6 years ago, it was hard to follow in places being very overgrown, I recall the best Rallycross spectacular points were on the old bitumen race circuit. Great memories.
I remember it was in good condition in the late 80s when I was a kid there, the dirt infield track was still there. The BMX track was quite popular then. Then a bit older in the 90s I'd see the lap dashes. There used to be a dirt track going to an unlocked back gate, so you could take mum's car for a lap or two during the week when I was on my Ps.
Nice film good to see this and amazing the circuit is still there in Europe most of the abandoned circuits just get houses built on them. Interesting to see the rallycross pics didn’t know you had rallycross in Australia in the 70’s
The Sydney boys and their FJs were unbelievable around Catalina in those days. I can't remember all their names. Max Stahl comes to mind. I saw Peter Foley win there in his Cooper-S. The noise they made in that valley was massive. That must have been 63 or 64.
I recall Bob and Don Algie, also from Sydney were the first to race a Ford Falcon, the XK original. They machined off the cast inlet manifold and fitted 6 amal m/c carburettors. It was successful against the 48/215s. They achieved some alarming wheel angles at times. Saw them at Sandown.
Australia, racing full speed into boring nothingness. While most other countries are building infrastructure like this, even in the 3rd world, Aussie has been wiping it out since the 90's. Closing race tracks, closing 4WD access, banning extreme sport or requiring ridiculous licenses to do it. Super Nanny State.
Norm was a GM man. I saw him roll his beloved PK752 at Calder in a cloud of dust when trying to pass Bob Jane's Fiat 2300. I first saw him race at Sandown in 61-62 in the lime green Chev Impala. But he had to go to Ford and the Mustang to stay competitive. Later a Galaxie which I saw him drive against Max Volkers GT Cortina at Lowood in 1964. He broke a valve spring that day and was about to withdraw but then appealed to anyone in the crowd with a Ford V8 to lend the part. Max won as the track was very wet and the blue Neptune Team Galaxie couldn't get traction down the straight. Then he went back to Chev with the new Nova and eventually the famous Monaro.
@@mickbrenton The very first time I saw motor racing was in the very early 60's at Sandown near the Dunlop bridge into the straight. Bob Jane flashed past in a red E-Type followed by an identical red car driven by Bill Leech which spun in a cloud of dust. Then came the touring car event led by Norm's Chevrolet Impala, Bob's white Jaguar and another driven by David McKay followed by Manton's 850 dueling with George Reynolds VW. The snapshot in my mind is of a huge thunderous, bellowing machine that you could hear coming, driven by a big man in a shirt, wrestling the wheel side-to-side with brown driving gloves on. That was Norm Beechey.
No mention of the aboriginal families and others ,who were forced of their land with no compensation just so rich people and their kids could race cars around... My mates grandmother was removed from there and it destroyed her and ber families lives..
@@ontheroadaustralia-soleman1911 not many people do, it's a very hidden history and quite a recent part of history too..they only used the track for a few years and didn't even allow the original residents to move back....when you look closely while walking around the area that was know as "the Gully" , before it was made into a race track ,you will notice there are stands of fruit trees here and there,,,that's where there were houses,they even had a church,the whole community was destroyed. Sad day in Australian history and even sadder that the land still hasn't been returned to the original families that lived there.
