2024 Vailo Adelaide 500

Firstly, despite my ever increasing attraction to cars the Adelaide 500 was not an event I expected to find myself at. So how did I wind up at the 25th year of the Repco Supercars Championship? 

That would be thanks to my girlfriend.

After her father passed away his interests became a valuable point of connection and so being a Holden man was a start, but it was the shared love of Crowded House that made her pull the trigger on tickets. 

When I was in middle school I wanted to go the Clipsal 500 (old sponsor) but could never swing the opportunity. So it was nice to finally be on the other side of the fence.

We were only there for the Saturday (a pity because my brother was performing with his band on Sunday) and while I could have taken more photos I just operated off impulse and took a few photos of things that made me reach into my pocket and pull out my phone.

Trucks are not something I've ever been interested in and I can't see that changing anytime soon. That said I was impressed by these two. I don't think it was the presentation in isolation but more the thought of a race team arriving at a track in such style. In a line up of mostly white, copy-paste, commercial setups, these two meant business on a different level. And far out they were clean.

Big & shiny, hence photo.

In terms of takeaways the V8 utes were great. Less restricted race-craft and therefore late breaking, collisions and goofy visuals as dual cabs are forced to handle a tight track. In hindsight the utes did a great job of retaining my attention. It might be because I see dual cabs on the road daily and it was funny watching them as opposed to the super cars where deciding if I preferred the Mustang or Camaro was a lose - lose. Similar to American politics where I have no say and therefore tune out to the debate my connection to the super-cars is non existent and therefore not that entertaining.

As the day progressed we wandered around trying to catch all the events including the sprint-car racing and super-cross. The super-cross definitely stood out as a still booming area of motorsport. Seeing the SX3 & 85CC lads have some stacks and put everything on the line to progress was entertaining racing. It gave me a huge respect for the super-cross world and moto~heads in general.

Let's put V8 speedboats in the same category as the racing transport, not something I'm into but when in front of me certainly has my attention.

Beyond its title holder achievement it stood out as something great from a time that is nearing or at its end. While I'm sure it still runs a treat, comparing it to the safety-conscious engineered version behind it doesn't bode well for its entry in current competition. Speaking of entry...

Inspired by the memes of boomers having a print-out of how rare their corvette is in the window at a cars and coffee, I had to snap a pic of this convertible Mustang. The Shannon's Insurance V8 showcase wasn't all marketing tactics (or was it) and had some of the cars you'd expect to be on display at an event like this.

Looking at the VN & VL Commodores it felt strange to think that they were once manufactured here in South Australia. I felt sorry for Holden as if it was a person. My snobbery led me to disregard them and now I have grown to really like them. Serves me right. It was also nice to see both a fairly standard VB (resto + engine swap), and a Group A VK prepared by HDT. Chrome bumper sophistication and plastic-fantastic cult hero race car.

 

 

So what about all the cool cars fans drive to the event? 

Well nowadays they don't. 

When I was younger the Clipsal meant all sorts of hotted up domestics driving around or parked near the event but those days seem to be over. Maybe it was the increased police presence or the fact most of the cars have appreciated so much that leaving them street side in not an option but either way I saw two notable cars when I arrived and when I popped out for dinner. Both were silver and both where made by Toyota. Unexpected indeed.

 

On a side note I'm guessing the kesev is daily driven cause boy was it the right weekend to be running legal ride height.

Overall it was a great experience despite many short comings and I'm glad I got to go. Long term I can't see it continuing and imagine it will head out to the Bend in some form or fashion. With an increasing number of people both environmentally and health conscious an event where hoards of people walk around smoking in front of kids and paying too much money for shit food is going to sell less tickets. Let alone an increasing disconnect to motorsport. Like many we were really only there in the first place for Crowded House but chose to see more. And it certainly was the case as big numbers of people poured in for just the concert. At one point in the set Neil Finn asked the crowd why they came to which an overwhelming for you response was given. He may have led-the-witness slightly. Crowded House was unreal.

 

They seemed genuinely excited to play and had a wonderful stage presence. It's no secret they're great live but the crowd work and constant instrument changes added to the experience. They really looked to be having fun together. During an instrument change Neil Finn talked to the crowd about a lesser known Crowded House playing the first Adelaide Formula One race in 1985. He continued to share how former drummer Paul Hester represented in the celebrity race, after which they played a mash of songs including some Split Enz tracks. Excellent performance and the best way to end my Adelaide 500 experience.

 

And thanks if you've read this far.