DARWIN FORM, FACTS & ODDITIES
Yay! This story wasn’t a waste of time after all! Let’s go racing, Darwin style!
WORDS & IMAGES: Mark Walker
Trivia Time
1.1km: Front straight length, making it 0.1km longer than the ANDRA-spec quarter mile drag strip situated parallel on the inside of the circuit.
5: Drivers have started V8 Supercar races at Hidden Valley but never made it to the finish once, namely Peter Doulman, Kevin Heffernan, Mal Rose, David Russell and Charles Ryman.
8: Different drivers made it onto the podium from a possible maximum of nine last time out at Sydney Motorsport Park.
17: Different winners from the 58 races contested to date in Darwin.
30: Garages in the pit lane.
32°C: The maximum temperature in Darwin, it’s always 32°C.
36: Most starters in a race, 2002.
40km: The shortest ever race at Hidden Valley, race three from 1998, which was reduced after a red flag. The longest race distance has been 201km, from the recent Sunday races dating back to 2015.
56: Races started by Garth Tander at Hidden Valley, two short from a perfect score after being sidelined last year.
271km/h: Top speed.
4,000: Tonnes of asphalt used to pave the track.
$4,020: You can exclusively hire the entire venue for your spectator-less event, or for only $1,474.30 you can have the race track to yourself for a day.
4,500: Spectators a day this weekend.
Fun Facts
ONLY one driver has ever claimed the Darwin Triple Crown, with Scott McLaughlin taking the elusive title last year. Although he relatively cruised to the two race wins with margins of 7sec and 14sec respectively, his top-ten shootout time to earn pole on Sunday was only 0.0153sec faster than teammate Fabian Coulthard.
OF the active drivers, Jamie Whincup leads the way with six wins in Darwin ahead of McLaughlin and Mark Winterbotttom on four apiece, then Rick Kelly, David Reynolds and Shane Van Gisbergen on two, while Chaz Mostert and Coulthard come into the weekend with one win each. All-time on the win list, Mark Skaife leads Craig Lowndes eight wins to seven.
THE venue has been a happy hunting ground for DJR Team Penske in recent times, with five of the six most recent races ending in their favour. The track has also been a strong point for David Reynolds, who has claimed two of his seven career wins there.
IN the 12 races since race two 2014, Triple 8 Race Engineering have only won twice – race two 2015 with Craig Lowndes, and race two in 2016 with Shane van Gisbergen. Jamie Whinciup though is the all-time lap leader at the facility, having led 263 of the 1,803 laps he has completed.
THERE are three standout qualifiers in the field, with Rick Kelly, David Reynolds and Mark Winterbottom all having claimed four poles at the venue, although Scott McLaughlin is fast gaining with three. Anton de Pasquale meanwhile doesn’t have a Darwin pole, but his average starting position of 5.8 from his first two visits to the track place him second all-time behind Marcos Ambrose (5.7) for the venue.
THE Hidden Valley facility also includes Northline Speedway, where Peter Brock once rolled a go-kart, a paved go-kart track, mud racing and quad bike racing facilities. The Darwin Karting Association circuit hosted the 50th Australian titles in 2012.
LAST time out at Sydney Motorsport Park, the event provided numerous personal best race results:
- Jack Le Brocq – 1st race three
- Todd Hazelwood – 3rd race three
- Garry Jacobson – 7th race two
- Jack Smith – 10th race two
- Zane Goffard – 10th race three
- Bryce Fullwood – 7th race three, outside of his efforts in the co-driver qualifying race at Sandown last year, where he finished fourth
Others to equal their previous best included:
- Andre Heimgartner – 2nd race three
- Anton de Pasquale – 3rd race one
THREE classes race at state level in the Northern Territory: Improved Production, Commodore Cup and HQ Holdens. Typically they feature on the Supercars undercard in some manner of combination.
OTHER motorsport facilities in the Northern Territory include Alice Spring’s Arunga Park Speedway, Gove’s Nhulunbuy Speedway, Katherine’s Crossroads Speedway, and Tennant Creek Speedway. Not exactly a closed circuit, don’t forget the Finke Desert race, which we recently profiled.
OVER the years the venue has played host to a variety of solar powered vehicles, including portions of the World Solar Challenge, which runs from Darwin to Adelaide. The event had its genesis in 1982, when Hans Tholstrup and (the) Larry Perkins drove a solar powered car from west to east across Australia. The 1kw of power made by the solar panels on the Quiet Achiever propelled the machine to an average speed of 23km/h. And you get upset when you are stuck behind a caravan…
HIDDEN Valley has also been utilised for bicycle racing as a part of the Arafura Games, a bi-annual multi-sport event that incorporates the Oceania Paralympic Championships.
ALSO, with only minor updating, we will be able to recycle this preview ahead of next weekend.
The History
1979: Plans for Hidden Valley were formed, replacing other local facilities that dated back to the late ‘60s.
1982: Hidden Valley’s speedway opened on May 29th.
1983: Hidden Valley’s kart track was opened, moving activity away from the 13 Mile Aircraft Circuit.
1985: Hidden Valley’s drag strip was opened on June 9th.
1986: The racing circuit was originally opened.
1997: Paul Morris gives the thumbs up for Super Tourer to race at Hidden Valley in May, and in August it was added to the V8 Supercars calendar for the following year.
1998: Works to bring the circuit up to CAMS spec commence after February, with the inaugural meet held on 17-19 July. In the same year, the facility’s mud racing circuit was also constructed.
2004: Marcos Ambrose and Mark Skaife come together at the final turn of the opening race of the weekend. Ambrose finished third and Skaife 14th, with the win going to Russell Inagll.
2013: Stacks on the mill – Lee Holdsworth, Tim Slade, David Wall, Alex Davison, Alex Premat, Dean Fiore and James Moffat are eliminated from the final race of the weekend in an opening lap melee. The race was shorted from 35 laps to 24.
2014: Following the V8 Supercars round, the track was fully repaved as a part of a $9.5 million dollar renovation.
2015: David Reynolds short-cut the track at turn five, re-joined at turn seven, and won the race.
2016: Lee Holdsworth has a horror shunt with a concrete wall exiting the first turn, with the new wall replacing the former tyre barrier for safety reasons…
2017: Two men were transported to hospital after an accident on the quad bike track. The ambulance spokesperson believes alcohol was a contributing factor to the shunt.
2030: Final year on current Supercars contract.
Insider Trading
Best Local Feed
Mitchell Street. I’d love to be able to furnish you with more information, but beer happened and the finer details subsequently failed to record in my memory. Also, the Mindil Beach Markets, which currently open on Sunday evenings.
Best Local Beer
Three simple words: Darwin. Ski. Club. This locale also features the most #Instaworthy sunset on the face of the planet, see below.
Best Local Things to do After Racing
Clearly: the above two. But if you are hanging around for a few days, Darwin has so much to offer. Genuinely, there are some cool historic sights around town, personal favourites include the vintage car museum at the 1934 Qantas Hangar, and also the B52 at the Darwin Aviation Museum. Darwin is the only stop on the tour that feels like it is in another country, so why not go fishing, take a harbour cruise, or head further afield? Better yet, rather than attend the Supercars event, visit on any other weekend of the year – the car racing can tend to get in the way of a good time!
Best Traffic Tip
Don’t drink and drive, but if you are driving, they seem to have a reasonable handle on traffic access after all these years.
Best Spectating
In the shade, I cannot stress this enough. Somewhere around the Valley, perhaps the Sky Deck if you are allowed in, or in front of Shenanigans Irish Pub. That last suggestion is also very close to Shenanigans Irish Pub, so by that criteria alone, it’s a winner.
Best Photography from Punterville
Generally speaking, punterville isn’t at a massive disadvantage to the pros wherever you are allowed. Have a walk around be creative. Try having a mad swing at a pan on the inside of turn 10, for instance.
Mark Walker (administrator)
A vastly experienced Motorsport Public Relations operator, journalist, commentator and photographer, Mark brings his unique angle to The Race Torque in both words and imagery. As well as serving as our key photographer on the ground at major events around Australia (and overseas), Walker will often chime in with his unique and pin-point sharp viewpoint of the racing world via the keyboard too.
