LARDNER PARK MOTORFEST

Motorfest 2020 gives the burnout faithful one last chance to party before lockdown

IN MID-MARCH, the weekend before our nation was cast into lockdown, Motorfest unleashed what turned out to be the last gasp of unbridled smoky mayhem for a little while. Held at Lardner Park, a bit over an hour east of Melbourne, Motorfest offered a show ’n’ shine, drift demos, a Harley stunt show and, of course, burnouts up the wazoo. The 2020 event was the first following a three-year hiatus, and is now run by burnout stalwarts Clint Ogilvie and Steve Loader (the folks who put on the Ultimate Burnout Challenge) in collaboration with Johnny Pilla from Powerhouse Engines. They were keen to put a new spin on the proven Motorfest formula.

“The event has been opened up to everybody – guys and girls are welcome in their $500 dungers right through to the cars with $100,000 paint. There are no favourites here, no discrimination,” Clint said. “What we want to do is give people a place they can come and have a good time – a good, safe environment where they can act up in front of a big crowd.

“Let’s face it, if you’re doing burnouts then you’re a showoff, and when you come out on the pad you’re the centre of attention,” he continued. “There’s nothing better than knowing you’ve done a good skid; I get goosebumps just thinking about it. It’s the biggest adrenaline rush in the world, and once you’ve tasted it, you crave it. We want competitors and spectators to share in it.”

To that end, the organisers limited entries so that everyone got ample time on the pad. They would sooner have entrants complaining about running out of tyres than waiting in line to have a run.

When the smoke finally cleared after a day chockers with high-horsepower mayhem, Rick Fuller in the LSONE VK took out the overall burnout win, ahead of Steve Edsall’s SKDUTE XC Falcon ute and the LOO5E VL Commodore of Russell Harris. Steve Edsall also came away with the win in the V8 Blown class, while Andrew Lynch’s LYNCHY Corolla got the chocolates in the V8 Aspirated class, and also won Best Tip-in.

Based on this year’s return, the future of Lardner Park Motorfest looks bright, and next year’s event is already in the planning. Many of the spectators and contestants have been to every Motorfest since its inception, and with most burnout events taking place in the big cities, regional skid comps like this are more important than ever.

MANY OF THE SPECTATORS AND CONTESTANTS EVERY MOTORFEST HAVE BEEN TO SINCE ITS INCEPTION

Burnout stalwart Juzzy Mott is always a top performer in her GEMSKID Gemini, but her Motorfest campaign didn’t start well when her first skid saw the radiator rub on a bolt, wearing a hole in it. Following a mercy mission to find a replacement radiator, the blown 408-powered Gem was back out on the pad to take out eighth place overall

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Lisa Howie rocked up to Motorfest with a fresh blown combo in her BRNRBA LH Torana. The new 540ci big-block was six years in the build. Having never driven a blown car before Motorfest, Lisa’s performance was a bit reserved, but the future potential was clear