Morphing Mallala
“Tracks in Time” OBA 93 reminded me how much the Mallala facility has changed. In the 1960s, meetings were generally combined bike/car events held on Monday public holidays with bikes having to finish racing by 12.30 so car racing could start. Although many thousands of spectators used to go, the track was not spectator-friendly with the car pits located on the infield covering the eastern part of the circuit. It was impossible to see between the start/finish straight and the opposite straight as the car guys had many structures including carports, pit boxes etc. plus their vehicles and tender vehicles. To further block the spectator view was a large ex-RAAF ablutions block and at least two other buildings. The view between the north and south hairpins was no better with a very large, tall exRAAF building (see photo) located on the in-field at Repco curve which housed the ground-keeper’s equipment which included a 1925 Chevrolet truck. There were also trees and small buildings on the infield. From a rider’s perspective Castrol Curve was not a smooth curve but tightened rapidly on exit with riders careful not to run wide as an ex-RAAF concrete gutter bordered the track at this point. It was covered with an old wood grate that had the
grain in the wrong direction so most learnt not to run wide and test tyre adhesion and puncture resistance. This corner is now very different. Event programmes were often numbered with prizes being parcels of 200 “Craven A” cigarettes. (It was the ‘60s.) Returning to Adelaide on the congested narrow country road was a traffic nightmare with police directing traffic in other directions even if you didn’t want to go in that direction. The OBA article also mentioned the Mt. Gambier circuit McNamara Park. At Easter the Mac Park meeting was held Saturday with racers having to rush back to
Adelaide for the Monday Mallala meeting.