The 39th running of the Grand Annual Classic..

Steven Lines (#7) emerged from the pack

to take the victory (pic: Ash Budd)

..and I missed it. There was a time when it also was on my calendar but since they stopped the casual campers from pitching the tent in the speedways car park we haven't made it down to what was (and still is) the biggest sprintcar event in Victoria. Premier Speedway is about a five hour drive from my place at a sleepy little town on the south coast, Warrnambool. The race attracts drivers from all over Australia including any of the left-over Yanks before they return home to the US. This year Warrnambool is even more bustling as the Australian nation title race is held the following week at Premier. That's two weekends of racing. With 62 cars entered for the Classic and take that to 94 nominations for the title getting a bed in Warrnambool at this holiday spot at this time of the year is impossible. I must say the times that we have gone down has been fantastic, the parade of rigs down the main street on Saturday morning and on the Sunday mornings a drive around town showed us just how 'speedway' the town becomes at this time of the year. Every motel has sprintcars getting a hose down after Saturday's racing and all the petrol stations would have a couple of cars parked on their driveway's with a teams of crew in lolly-pop coloured Tees at it spannering away. A great atmosphere.
The 2011 Classic has been won this year by South Australian driver Steven Lines. We saw this guy at Avalon a few weeks back and man.. he's faaaast. You can read the full race report here. So who will win the title. I think young James McFadden will have a race on his hands to keep that #1 on his car this year. This is a track for the brave and experienced. We shall see in a few days time.