If the 33rd running of the Phillip Island Classic is anything to go by, post-pandemic motorsport is going to be great.

Perhaps our judgement of the 2022 crowd size, vibe and buzz was ripened by the memory of last year’s limited entry and massively curtailed spectator numbers, all of whom were corralled into a tiny viewing area.

This year the event bounced back to over 400 entries, with punters packing the outfield of the Grand Prix Circuit, basking in the perfect seaside weather.

There’s a reason people build holiday homes on Phillip Island, with this past weekend being exhibit A.

We didn’t hang out in the ticket booth counting sales, but by the visual test, it was every bit as big as any Supercar round at the venue from the past decade.

The Cars are the Stars: Event Video

Click here for the on-track action from the Group C, Group A and 5 Litre Touring Cars + Supercars.

Now, any race meeting with several hundred entries would pique the interest of The Race Torque, but when each and every one of those entries has a story to tell, we are all in.

From the multi-million dollar Le Mans-spec Porsche 962 and 956s, through to turbo-era F1 cars, down to the backmarkers in the production classes, the stories are remarkable.

Fortunately, access to every detail of the cars for punters and media at these events is open book, and the custodians of the works of art are always more than willing to dispense of untold tales – stay tuned to these pages for some ripping upcoming yarns…

And while it’s all good banging on about the cars, the actual racing in most categories was incredible, despite the value of the machinery in play.

Take for instance Groups M & O, Sports & Racing, where nothing split Nick Bennett and Andrew Robson as they battled it out in their respective Elfin and Brabham.

If you squinted, Formula Ford could have been any national-level Formula Ford race from the past 30 years.

Except there were over 50 cars on track.

The Group S sports cars also had a deep entry, and the racing was tight at the top, with precious little splitting Porsche from Shelby, Corvette and MG Midget.

In the Under 2 litre Group N races, the battle at the front between the Alfa Romeos of Adriano Dimauro and Spencer Rice at times looked like the pair were tethered together by a very short rope.

In the Over 2 litre races, Aldo De Paoli was in a class of his own out in the lead, although he did pay the fans back by turning on a deadset drifting clinic.

Make no mistake, Groups J, K, Lb & Invited Cars was for the most part led by David Reid in his 1959 Faux Pas. Despite the age of the cars, the racing was surprisingly spirited.

Hell, even Guido Belgiorno-Nettes in the Ferrari F1 was pushed all the way by Vincent Holland in Roberto Moreno’s former lightning-quick Ralt RT21 F3000 machine in the Saturday race.

While the highlight Q & R races are all about the eye candy, the competitiveness down the field would make many professional classes blush.

And while the event on the weekend should be applauded, it’s only touching the surface of the potential for the meet.

The international car companies will start sending museum pieces again, plus overseas and interstate visitors will continue to re-emerge from their hibernation, further padding out the entry list and the spectator areas.

Our advice: you don’t have to be a hardcore historic fan to appreciate it. You just have to be a motorsport fan.

Put it on your list, you won’t regret it.