Can you name this Aussie racetrack?
Right, how good are you?
If you said it’s the Roxby Downs Sporting Car Club’s Dirt Circuit, aptly entitled Red Dunes Raceway, you deserve a gold star!
Where is Roxby Downs exactly? Well, it’s a short six-hour drive north of Adelaide – follow the highway to Darwin north until you turn off for Woomera, then continue driving north for another 80km.
If you’ve never heard of Roxby Downs, here is a quick education, and if you were schooled in the 1980s, you probably didn’t find it in your geography textbook, as the town opened in November 1988.
The purpose of the settlement is to service the nearby Olympic Dam mine site, now a BHP-owned poly-metallic underground mine, largely pulling copper out of the ground, alongside uranium, silver and gold.
It’s a seriously sizeable operation and is the biggest electricity user in South Australia, while it draws 35 megalitres of Great Artesian Basin water every day, making it the biggest user of underground water on this side of the planet.
Roxby Downs has a transient population of around 4,000 people at any time, connected to Adelaide via daily flights.
But why bother going to Adelaide if you can make your own fun?
Around a kilometre from the edge of town, Red Dunes Raceway is one of nine similar venues in the state which have joined forces under the Associated Dirt Circuit Clubs of South Australia banner.
Others include Arno Bay, Black Rock, Ceduna, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Truro and Whyalla, with this genre of the sport having origins dating back to the mid-1970s.
Clearly, it’s the very definition of grassroots racing where costs are very much kept in check, which extends to the entry gate at Roxby Downs, where typical admission for race days is $5 a head, with fans able to enjoy food and bar facilities.
The racing season in 2023 dodges the hottest of the hot desert weather, with rounds scheduled from March through late October, with events largely held at night, with the circuit sharing a two-round state title with Black Rock, several hours to the south.
As for the competition classes on offer, there’s a mixed bag to select from.
Outside of the more standard saloons, purpose-built speedway-styled cars have a home, while the venue also features a skid pad, which has been laid inside of the two circuit configurations.
Next door, the Desert Dirt Kart Club has its own race track.
Not entirely unique in regional motorsport, the black track surface in some photos is due to the dirt being topped by an oil coating that keeps the dust down on race days.
You can keep updated on the latest via the Roxby Downs Sporting Car Club Facebook page.
The Red Dunes Raceway layout is reminiscent of the Albury Wodonga & Districts Car Club’s Wilby Park Raceway, which we recently covered.
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.
