VW Warwick will be held on the weekend of October 4-5th at the Warwick Dragway 1/8th mile track located at Warwick Queensland.
"as much VW drag racing as competitors can cram into two days" more...
Issue 18
May - July 2008
Meteorology is a peculiar science, and we humans continue to spend countless hours and endless resources attempting to perfect it. From satellite surveillance to complex computer modelling, each new technology strives to understand the forces of mother nature, and to deliver forecasts to either help us plan our long weekends, or to decide whether to plant next seasons crops. Problem is, however, these new fangled weather prediction tools are proving no more effective than looking out the window in the morning and deciding whether to throw on a jacket or change into a pair of boardies! But not all is lost.
There is one forecasting tool that has been overlooked in the quest for accurate weather prediction, and in recent months, this method is proving to be the ideal instrument for predicting rain. Forget all about El Niño and the fictitious doomsday concept of global warming. All you need is a gathering of hard core VW enthusiasts and the heavens will open.
In February each year, the Bad Little Buggers Volkswagen club of Queensland run the popular Dubs By The Pub cruise and ShownShine. February in the tropics can always be a gamble with the weather, with most outdoor events running the gauntlet of late summer/early autumn storms. But like I said, theres no need to guess the weather when you plan to fill a carpark with VWs - the rain will come. Thankfully, mother nature only chose to drench the cruise assembly point and left the major show area at the north coast reasonably dry. Rain eased in the morning to scattered showers, and by lunch a broad brimmed hat was still the attire for the day.
Later that month, the very first Victorian weekend of all Volkswagen drag racing action happened at Portland, at the new South Coast Raceway 1/8th mile facility. This time the Victorian weather Gods decided to showcase the Antarctica One Day, Sahara The Next weather cycle that the southern part of Australia is famous for. The rain and wind was truly spectacular, and if you were staying at the track and for some reason didnt spend at least an hour holding onto your race tent while being blasted by horizontal rain, then you were probably one of the chosen few who had the foresight to stay in a nice motel room overnight.
In March, it was NSWs turn to host the 39th National Bug-In over the Easter long weekend, an event which comprises three different types of motorsport - Motorkhana, Khanacross and lap dashes. The venue was Oran Park, and the weather was....wait for it.....WET!! Ask Jak Rizzo how slippery the circuit was, or Mal Dodd
how muddy the Khanacross became, and both will look at you sideways - the same way their cars seemed to be on the tracks! And with poor old Oran Park looking more like a dogs breakfast than the once glorious motorsport facility we all remember, the rain was a gloomy reminder of the tracks impending close.
Did the weather stop these shows from going ahead? No way, and in the end, probably contributed to an increased level of camaraderie amongst the die-hard enthusiasts. Take as one example the neat 1955 Rag Top Oval Beetle pictured below belonging to a very proud Mitchell Lovell. Any inspection will confirm that this is indeed one superb vehicle on all accounts, and what adds further praise towards this small window bug and its owner, is the fact that this photograph was taken at VW Portland during the wild and mildly cyclonic Victorian weather.
Mitchell restored this car to both recapture the era and also to drive. No one can appreciate your car except yourself if you lock it away as a museum piece, and Mitchell had the courage of his convictions to drive the Oval to Portland, even with the knowledge of less than perfect weather. Mitchells effort was replicated by all the VW people who attended either or both of these events, demonstrating that it will take a lot more than adverse weather to dampen the VW spirit.
Of course, there will always be the maverick VW shows which break with the rain-dance tradition, including the fast growing Victorian Jamboree and the SA Day Of The Volkswagen, but it would be boring if we all did the same thing! There is plenty more action to happen in 2008, so ditch the dust covers and take a drive! See you on the road.
Craig Hughes
Editor / VW Nutter
