AFTER one of the wettest and windiest West Aussie winters I can remember, I was more than happy to jump on a plane and head north to Darwin for a few 32-degree days and a touch of humidity. The reason? To check out the happenings at The Shed Company Gazzanats, a jam-packed one-day event held at Hidden Valley Raceway.

What a great venue for an event like this. Not far from the airport and just a 15-minute drive back into town, the track itself is a cracker, with a 1.1km straight and a good mix of corners, all completely visible from the viewing platform above the pits. The burnout pad is pretty tight – especially when you’re used to the expanse of the Snakepit at the Perth Motorplex – but that didn’t deter any of the competitors when it came time to tip it in! The car park area behind the pits was perfect for the show ’n’ shine, and beyond that was a skidpan where the drift display ran non-stop.

Apart from the sunny weather, the other great thing about visiting Darwin – or the NT as a whole – is the laidback atmosphere, where everyone is happy and smiling and having a great time.

AFL legend Barry Hall was on deck with the Castlemaine Rod Shop boys and actually won the powerskid comp piloting their blown LS-powered HJ ute. The CRS boys also brought up their wicked REAL DEAL Torana and the WARBIRD XP Falcon from Victoria. Unfortunately they had dramas with the Falcon, but the Torana got through bulk tyres.

Sam Lord’s blown and injected HZ ute dubbed BAD HABIT won the burnout comp and scored a ticket to the Burnout Masters at Red CentreNATS next weekend. There was a Red CentreNATS Burnout Masters ticket up for grabs for the highest-placing local too, which was claimed by Frank Paesel in his RUB1OUT V8 Corolla.