THE Australian National Drag Racing Association (ANDRA) has announced a new drag racing series, the Australian Drag Racing Championship (ADRC), kicking off in July at Hidden Valley Raceway.

At this stage the series will feature Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle only, although ANDRA is hoping to add other Group One categories in the future.

Each round of the new ANDRA series will also incorporate a round of the 2021/2022 Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series.

This will be the first time ANDRA has run an Australian series since 2017.

The new ADRC series will cross borders to four different states and five venues:

• Round one: Hidden Valley – 16-17 July 2021
• Round two: Alice Springs – 24-25 July 2021
• Round three: Adelaide – 2-3 October 2021
• Round four: Perth Motorplex – 27 Nov 2021
• Round five: Calder Park – 5-6 February 2022
• Round six: Perth Motorplex – 5-6 March 2022

The Adelaide round will run over 1000 feet, and ANDRA Chief Executive Officer Brett Stevens is hopeful that Calder Park will be ready to run over the full quarter-mile.

Both Sydney Dragway and Willowbank Raceway currently run under IHRA sanction, preventing the ADRC running at those tracks.

“We have been listening to what our members and our member tracks want, and there have been a lot of people doing a lot of work on this for a long time,” Stevens said. “The Top Doorslammer and Top Fuel Motorcycle racers in particular have been pushing us to do this.

“We are very excited about the future and look forward to seeing the growth and success of both the Australian Drag Racing Championship and the Summit Racing Equipment Sportsman Series over the coming season and into the future.”

Meanwhile, Willowbank Raceway will hold the 53rd Winternationals 10-13 June. The track was forced to cancel the 2020 event due to COVID restrictions.