NEWS FRONT
> MARK YOUR CALENDARS; OPTIMA’S SEARCH FOR THE ULTIMATE STREET CAR WILL BE BACK ON OUR SHORES IN 2021
THE pro touring scene has seen a decent growth spurt in Australia in recent years, so it seems fitting that the USA’S premier pro touring event is making its way back to our shores next year, hitting Calder Park Raceway over the weekend of 20-21 February.
The Optima Search for the Ultimate Street Car (OSUSC) is revered around the world as one of the hardest and most well-rounded events for pro tourers, pitting competitors against each other in a variety of tests including drag racing, autokhana, speed stop and circuit time trials.
Last year saw the first OSUSC event in
Australia take place at Calder Park, the day after the conclusion of our own gruelling street car marathon, Street Machine Drag Challenge. But while events like Drag Challenge and Hot Rod Drag Week aim to find the toughest street cars in a straight line, OSUSC is for competitors who can also stop and turn at the end of their pull.
For 2021, the Optima crew will return to Calder Park aiming to make the event bigger and better. For the Australian version, there are four classes: Classic for pre-1990 cars, Modern for post-1990 cars, and Fast Four 2WD and AWD classes for any hot fours and rotaries.
The basic entry rules are pretty simple: Cars need to have production tags, fully enclosed wheels and wear street-legal, treaded, noncompetition tyres. There is more to it than that though, so if you’re keen on entering, make sure you do some solid reading first.
There are some mint prizes up for grabs as well. While the winner of each class gets a piece of beaut silverware, the major gong for the overall winner is an invitation to the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational in the US, as well as a trip to SEMA 2021.
Event registration is open now, so visit driveusca.com/optima-au to sign up. Then start building your pro touring dream!
CALDER GETS LAID
THERE’S been a great deal of unrest in the drag racing community of late – and bastard coronavirus certainly hasn’t helped – but here’s some good news. Calder Park Raceway is making the most of the downtime, using it to perform a long-awaited resurfacing of the track – all the way to 1500 feet! The project was getting underway as we went to print, and while COVID-19 restrictions will likely dictate when the track reopens, it’s something to look forward to for Victorian drag racers and fans alike.