READY TO ROCK!

ROCKHAMPTON IS GEARING UP TO THROW THE WILDEST PARTY CENTRAL QUEENSLAND HAS SEEN IN DECADES, WITH THE FIRST ROCKYNATS SET TO BRING DRAG RACING INTO THE CENTRE OF TOWN

WE LOVE a street party, and it is obvious plenty of you guys do too, thanks to the success of Red Centrenats in Alice Springs. The good news is Central Queensland will get its own automotive street party soon, with the first Rockynats kicking off in Rockhampton in late June 2020.

The Rockhampton Regional Council has partnered with Summernats to bring all the party atmosphere of our favourite car shows to the centre of Rocky, including heads-up drag racing!

“For Rockynats, the whole town will host this event,” says Summernats communications director Adrian Hodgson. “It is about bringing the fun of Street Machine Summernats to another part of Australia, so we will bring the party to Rocky and take over the entire town

for a week.

“We will have burnouts, a dyno comp, a drifting exhibition, a street parade and show ’n’ shine,” Adrian continues. “Plus the big news is the heads-up eighth-mile drag racing on Quay Street right by the river. We have a nice, flat, smooth section of tarmac blocked off in front of a pub, which will be pumping, and we will go racing right in the middle of the historic waterfront precinct.”

The gorgeous Fitzroy River runs right through the middle of Rockhampton, and, following a $20 million investment, the beautiful heritage riverfront district will host a bunch of action at the first Rockynats.

“The brand-new giant boat ramp and car park will be our burnout area,” Adrian says. “It is seriously massive, so the burnouts will be awesome. Opposite that will be our drift zone in another car park, while the show ’n’ shine will also feature in this district.”

As Rockynats will be a qualifying round for the Summernats Burnout Masters, plenty of bighitters have already expressed interest in making the trek north. “Andrew Pool [IBLOWN], Andrew Lynch [LYNCHY], Mick Brasher [ULEGAL] and more have all expressed interest in coming along,” explains Adrian. “A lot of people learned a hard lesson when they sat out the first Red Centrenats, so it would be a mistake for people to sit out the first Rockynats.

“It will have a real festival atmosphere and all the action of Summernats, with perfect weather. The location is a beautiful spot on its own, and Rocky has a lot of cool local cars; there is a huge car and bike scene there.”