– Words: Ryan Lewis. Photo: Stefan Trajkovski.
Last Thursday night, forty-three brave souls made their way out to Eastern Creek Raceway for Circuit Club’s Twilight track session. Not only was light fading as the sun set, heavy rain during the day had left the track wet and slippery. With more evening showers preventing the tarmac from drying out conditions were less than ideal for those chasing PBs, but perfect for those who just want to have some fun!
Eastern Creek is a challenging and highly technical course. The main straight is massive and gives entrants the chance to really stretch their cars out in the high gears.
It took some time for the majority of the field to get confident in the treacherous conditions. Quick lap times were forgotten as drivers battled to stay on the black top!
Circuit Club events always draw a diverse crowd. Nicholas Trojko in the Lotus, above, managed a best of 2:23.5s on the night.
Waiting to pull onto the damp track, driver’s had their resolve tested!
Steve Ka pulled in the best time of the night with a 2:04 flat. His R34 is getting quicker by the day.
This white Lotus was piloted by a father and son team. We don’t know the exact age, but it’s safe to say the son was pretty young! Not a bad way to get your introduction to racing.
Jimmy Tran of BYP clocked a best of 2:29.6s in their Evo.
BMW E30s are a fantastic base for a track build. We want to see more of them! This one sported an SR20 swap with side exit exhaust and was being pushed very hard.
The C63 above was having a tough time maintaining traction. We suspect this wasn’t an accident. The driver was holding it sideways lap after lap and no doubt having a ball.
Another V8 Merc getting the job done.
A regular at CC track days, Mitchell Mathieson pulled a respectable 2:27.9; quickest of the MX-5s on the night.
This S14 was a rare sight. Most Silvia’s seen at Eastern Creek are more concerned with smoke and angle over pace and times.
Lancer Evos have a rep at Eastern Creek after taking out the WTAC crown two years running.
Great shot of this Exige at speed. Cheers to Stefan for braving the rain and grabbing these images.
Constant development on Steve’s R34 has seen him net significantly quicker times since WTAC earlier in the year. We’ll have a build update shortly.
AME Tracer TM-02 wheels are flavour of the month right now.
Brand new to Aus, this Fiat Abarth was awesome in the flesh. What we wouldn’t give to have a go in this thing isn’t worth having.
This particular Abarth is the 695 Tributo Ferrari, the fastest car in the Fiat 500 lineage.
At $70,000, it is not a cheap thrill, but 194kW from a 1.4L turbocharged motor is something else entirely.
By the time the sun set completely, entrants had a good feel for the conditions. Lap times dropped substantially as drivers found the best line to suit the wet track.
Atmosphere in the pits was calm and collected. The social side of these Circuit Club meets can’t be beaten.
Two Volkswagen Golf GTIs were out on the night. Here we see a timing transponder being mounted as far forward as physically possible.
With rain comes accidents, and the sand traps turn to mud. Marc Hammond’s WRX was not the only car with muddy additions to its paintwork.
Total darkness out on the track brought an epic display of sparking undercarriages and glowing brake rotors. If you want a unique racing experience, you have to try this. Keep an eye on the Circuit Club website for details. You can also view the full set of images by Stefan over on our flickr page.