MIA

It is the big Tasman Revival historic racing meeting at Sydney Motor Sport Park -formerly Eastern Creek Raceway-this weekend. But I won't be there. The first time for many years I have missed a big meeting except for when I have been out of the country. The fact is I am feeling a bit jaded about yet another historic meeting-particularly as the Muscle Car Masters was only a few weeks go. There comes a point when you feel you really have been there and done that and I am at that point.
I have been going to the historic race meetings at what was Eastern Creek since it opened in 1990-26 years -and before that I was going to meetings at the now long gone Amaroo Park and Oran Park circuits for at least 10 years. In addition there are the Le Mans Classics and Phillip Island Historics I have been to as well as other meetings in the US and Europe.  That's a helluva lot of historic racing. Time to give it a break me thinks.
Above two photos from a historic meeting at Eastern Creek probably 2002.  Photos taken from the roof of the pits on slide film with my Leica M6. The scene would be the same today although the value of the cars -the Dino in particular -has gone through the roof since then.
Back in 1992 when the Australian economy was not travelling too well the Land Rover dealer in Adelaide was struggling to sell a very tidy,very low mileage Dino he had traded in for A$25000. I have just seen in the latest UK Octane magazine a Dino being offered for the equivalent of A$400,000. That's 1600% appreciation in 34 years. Nice work if you can get it.
The same dealer offered me a very clean Porsche 912 for $16,000 in 1998-912s were very unloved back then. I turned my nose up at it. A four cylinder Porsche?-not for me. It would have been a very good buy. On the other hand 9 years later I did make an extremely good buy in the shape of my 1971 911.