PIARC Celebrates 70 Years

This month, Phillip Island Auto Racing Club Ltd (PIARC) will commence its year of celebrations and acknowledgements of its Platinum Anniversary with the PIARC 70th Anniversary Race Meeting Event on March 26 and 27 at its spiritual home, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

The club is holding a two-day closed event to encompass everything that PIARC has become synonymous with over the journey. Public Race Meetings and Events will occur throughout the remainder of the year.

On Saturday, March 26 the club will present grass roots motorsports with Supersprints, a Round of the Victorian Motorkhana Championship, a Hill Climb and Scratch Races for Superkarts.

Given the diversity of PIARC in Motorsports, the actual anniversary date of the Inaugural General Meeting March 26, 1952, we cannot truly do justice to so many types of events in one day, a weekend or even a month.

As a result the event will spill over into Sunday, one day after 70 years to the day when the club was formed.

Sunday will feature open wheelers in the form of Formula 5000’s and Formula Open (Libre) and Sedan racing with 2 Litre Sport Sedans,and PIARC’s Combined Sedan Category encouraging cars out of the shed and on to the track.

All part of the acknowledgement of where we have come from and to.

Off track festivities will include a members Show and Shine for Club Permit Plated vehicles and Cars of Special Interest with on track parade laps of the circuit plus a get together of PIARC members and drivers from the 50s to current day.

An invitation-only get together for members will feature on Sunday whilst racing is being undertaken.

A great opportunity to relive the past and celebrate the future.

Club President Nick Scarcella noted that this event is a showcase of what the club has offered and archived over 70 years.

“To be able to have the support of the circuit to display what the club is all about is fantastic and rings true. Our club mantra is providing “access to motorsport”,” he said.

Director and Event Master of Ceremonies Geoff Bull echoed Nick’s words.

“Whilst a newcomer to the club after only 54 years membership, with 52 years at the Island Grand Prix Circuit or Calder (during Island closure 1978-1990) and elsewhere, time has galloped by and the number of race meetings and events PIARC has participated in and created defies the memory as do the number of members and officials during the 70 years,” Geoff said. 

The club membership currently stands at 889.

The club’s involvement spans building the circuit and maintaining it from 1952 to 1956, Racing 1956 to 1962, 1967 to1978 and 1990 to the present day 2022 and beyond.

“In that time we also encompassed a Grand Prix commencing at Calder in 1980 and Formula 1 from 1985 to 2022, in addition all other forms of Club, State, National and International motorsport including Motor Cycles to date,” Geoff said.

The owners from 1990 were Placetec Pty Ltd (Cameron & Henderson families) and since 2004 The Linfox Group.

“Both these entities have been very supportive of PIARC and worked hand in hand to keep the dream alive and the cars and bikes circulating,” he said.

“Wow! Seventy and still having fun!”