PortLincolnAutosprint 01
Bruce Newton27 Sept 2016
NEWS

MOTORSPORT: Tuna town goes racing

Port Lincoln to host CBD autosprint next Easter

Australia's tuna fishing capital will become horsepower heaven next Easter when Port Lincoln plays host to two-days of motor racing on the streets of its central business district.

Touted as the biggest motorsport event ever to hit the western part of South Australia, the organisers are hoping for a high calibre 75-car entry that is expected to include celebrity drivers and some famous and fast machinery.

The event is an autosprint, with each entry expected to get up to seven runs against the clock over the course of the weekend and is the brainchild of two Eyre Peninsula club racers Hagen Zerk and Tony Rodda.

Appropriately, considering this is still very much traditional Holden versus Ford country, Rodda races a Torana GTR XU-1 in sprints and road rallies, while Zerk runs an XA Ford Falcon GT hardtop.

A third local motoring enthusiast, wine-making entrepreneur and Ferrari fan Peter Teakle, has come onboard as primary sponsor for three years and the event has been dubbed the Teakle Autosprint Port Lincoln.

The city council has also thrown its support behind the event, while Port Lincoln businesses are onboard as is the South Australian state government.

At least 5000 spectators are expected to attend the event, which will have substantial grandstand seating provided in key viewing zones.

The track will be set up in two different ways; on Saturday a shorter 750 metre course will host two runs for each entry, while on the Sunday Rodda and Zerk are planning for at least four and hopefully five runs on a longer 1.5km course.

Both versions of the course include a blast along the foreshore on Tasman Terrace.

CAMS has approved the circuit, although it has stipulated no open-wheelers can drive on the track.

"There's never been anything like this on the Eyre Peninsula," said Rodda, who is also president of the local motorsport enthusiasts organisation, the EP Autosports Club.

"We'd love to build a motorsport heritage for Port Lincoln and the Eyre Peninsula."

Added Zerk: "We started off thinking about doing a dirt rally in the hills around the town but then we started doing a bit of tarmac stuff and we thought 'why don't we do a bitumen event in town."

"And it's gone on from there. We haven't had time to form a committee yet and we are just flat-out."

Rodda said the entry had been intentionally limited to 75.

"We want to give the competitors the most track time we can," he explained. "Because we are remote it's no good making them come over here to this fantastic track and only giving them two runs."

Rodda said he had been gratified by the response, which had been driven so far primarily by word of mouth.

"We are getting close to 50 entries already," he said. "The phone calls are non-stop."

Zerk said there were a number of reasons the event had attracted so much interest and enthusiasm.

"A lot of people I speak to say they have always wanted to come to Port Lincoln and this event being on a long weekend helps them do that," he said.

"There is no other motorsport on over that weekend, so this is a chance to bring the family for a holiday and get involved in some motorsport as well.

"And having it on the streets through the town is really exciting as a driver, especially having lots of people there watching you."

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