The Old Surfers Paradise

[4EVER17]

Is there any one on this site that went to the old track at surfers?I used to be a flag marshell there and lakeside.Was on flag point under Dunlop bridge at a sports sedan meeting when Tony Edmondson crashed his immaculate alfetta chev.At that meeting someone with last name Russell debued the ex HRT Holden sports sedan & Phil Ward had just brought ex Bob Jane Holden....Have got some great memories of Dick,Brocky & K.B. Thrashing it out.Also Mr Juicy Ralt & Someone in a very fast Dark Blue F5000,He was a Queenslander.

 

[Fordlover]

i think my dad was there the day Edmondson crashed, was the the huge fire? if so he was there, my dad used to go down all the time back then,
he also used to do some off street drags in his xy that he had,
he said it was a great track, and watching the 68 tasman series race the other day brought back some memories for him.

 

[Doug]

4ever17, I too was a flaggie at Surfers and Lakeside, and was on the flagpoint at Lukeys corner in 85 when 14 +/- cars, including DJ crashed out in the rain after skating on oil - loved that circuit though.

 

[4EVER17]

Hay there fordlover.Yes that was a huge fire and my first time promoted to an important flag point, That corner was at the end of a very long strait which was taken flat out by the more experianced & a slight lift or big back off for the less experianced.There were 2,3 or 4 cars out in front by aprox 1/2 the main strait. Edmondson had been following Ward who hadn`t long stepped up from his Wriggleys sponsored escort(and it was fast)into 10 eye witness news sponsored ex Bob Jane Monaro for a couple of laps and then coming onto the main strait,pulled out of the slipstream and went to go to the right up the inside just before the overhead bridge.Realising he couldn`t went to pull back in behind,just as Ward lifted off the two touched the alfetta flew into the air and landed in the middle of the track and it was just like an attomic bomb going off.But what did save the day was the flaggies half way down the strait who were quick enough to get the red flags out to the next bunch of cars.Those guys were on it.

 

[Poita]

I went a couple of times in the early 80's, there were bugger all people there the times I went but the racing and the circuit layout were quite good.

 

[4EVER17]

Hi Doug,was weelie a flaggy then? Because I moved to central Queensland and lost touch.Remember seeing that race on TV and wandering what was going on.Is the picture in the image gallery of dick leaning on his upside down car of that race? Also remember a few cars dissapearing up and over that bank behind Luckey.Yes loved that track Too.First time to bituman race was Lakeside and saw Jim Richards Sidchrome Mustang.I was in, hook line and sinker.Did you ever see the Corvaire? When I was a flaggy it was the mg car club in the valleynce a month for meetings or something like that.

 

[4EVER17]

Hi Poita.Must say this site is very user friendly and ever one on hear seems to get along.Much different to past experiances on several other different sites that i joined over the years.Just couldn`t be bothered partisipating and left.Have read almost every post and Congratulations to u and everyone else for a producing a fantastic web site..

 

[Doug]

4ever17, nah Dicks roll over was in 81, and they repaired it in less than a week for a race at Calder the following weekend - I started flagging in the early to mid 80's so missed all the f5000's, however I still maintain the hardest category to flag for was the gemini's - we downed blue flags for the first lap of each race cos it was too hard lol

 

[Poita]

quote:Originally posted by 4EVER17

Hi Poita.Must say this site is very user friendly and ever one on hear seems to get along.Much different to past experiances on several other different sites that i joined over the years.Just couldn`t be bothered partisipating and left.Have read almost every post and Congratulations to u and everyone else for a producing a fantastic web site..

Cheers Ross, its pretty easy when were all supporting the same team here. We have had some heated discussions, mainly when Seton got the boot, but very rarely does it get personal and in the whole time I have been here only one person has been banned and that was for continually posting ridiculous threads. Refer to the OIL discussions

 

[Racin Jason]

quote:Originally posted by Poita

quote:Originally posted by 4EVER17

Hi Poita.Must say this site is very user friendly and ever one on hear seems to get along.Much different to past experiances on several other different sites that i joined over the years.Just couldn`t be bothered partisipating and left.Have read almost every post and Congratulations to u and everyone else for a producing a fantastic web site..

Cheers Ross, its pretty easy when were all supporting the same team here. We have had some heated discussions, mainly when Seton got the boot, but very rarely does it get personal and in the whole time I have been here only one person has been banned and that was for continually posting ridiculous threads. Refer to the OIL discussions

Lucky you know I was joking![)][)]

 

[Poita]

quote:

Lucky you know I was joking![)][)]

I was going to edit your user name and give you one more appropriate to the thread you started.

 

[Racin Jason]

quote:Originally posted by Poita

quote:

Lucky you know I was joking![)][)]

I was going to edit your user name and give you one more appropriate to the thread you started.

OK! OK! I promise I will behave!

 

[DJR1718]

Surfers was the first racetrack my Dad took me too. He created a monster!!

 

[TS-50]

Surfers was one of the best, wasn't it.

 

[4EVER17]

Sure was! and then the do gooders move in and she`s gone.Some memories of that track for me:Ansett Elfin F5000erkins & Shupan. K.B.in the Camaro,Brock glued to his bumper comming onto the main straight and dicky not far behind I was on the easten side of fence and could see their eyeballs as KB got the back wheels off onto the grass and no one backed off as kb looked at brock in his rearview mirror,gave him the thumbs up and brock smiled and off they went.I rember thinking how much trust they have in eachother.And it was only practice.

 

[Rob 18]

Unfortunately as a southerner, I never had the chance to take in a race meet at Surfers. Remember watching plenty of great racing their on the box from that roll over in 81 with the failing brakes on the XD, to that epic battle between DJ, Moff, Harvey & McLeod in the wet in 84. Seemed to always produce great racing IIRC.

I made the trip twice to Lakeside in the mid 90's before it closed & what a race track that was. From the cars backed up to the fence on the race track & the patrons with their BBQ's, to the $5 grandstand where you couldn't see bugger all. Still couldn't believe as a southerner, how big Dick Johnson was at Lakeside. I reckon he had 1/2 the crowd just following #17. It was crazy!!!

Good memories..

 

[Racin Jason]

I never got to see Surfer's either Rob, like you, one of greatest memories was DJ winning in the wet in '84. That was the race that Moffat had the huge shunt into the tree and Harvey (who was driving 05 while Brock was at Le Mans IIRC) went to help. Gary Willmington got the blame for that shunt.

 

[Rob 18]

He did RJ, but I was always a bit of a Willmington fan through his efforts with that old XD especially at the Amscar rounds at Amaroo, so me, being a one eyed Ford fan, had to lay the the blame soley in Moffat's hands . DJ passed him cleanly on the straight & Moff came up on Gary through that fast sweeper at the end of the straight & then Moff tried man handling a big heavy XD out of the way in the wet.....Just wasn't gonna happen!![V][V]

Totally biased view but hey........that's just the way I saw it!!!![}][}]

 

[4EVER17]

A Bit confused here?The crash between Willmington & Moff was Amaroo?
Moff`s crash into the tree?Was that when he busted his sternim at Surfers I thought? And dougs post of the 14 cars crashing out? Was Dick in the Muzzy with those white wheels on it.(like those white wheels)Also remember Harvy subing for Brock..Did Harvy do any good? After much antisapation of the Moffet Colone Capri at Surfers it was a bit of a fizza!Looked good.

 

[Doug]

Yeah the Mustang was with white wheels in the crash, and as we helped dick and Jimmy push it out, all you could hear was Dick moaning about how much the broken wheel would cost him. As for Willmington, he did tangle with Moff under the bridge, and I think Harves got involved to some extent - also recall Willmington and Moff tangling at AIR in 81 or 82.