Gazzanats Darwin 2024: results & gallery

It wasn’t just the heat that was blazing at Hidden Valley Raceway during Gazzanats Darwin; hundreds of smoking tyres fell victim to the burnout pad as a massive line-up of 52 pro skid cars stormed the NT capital in June for two days of play. Superskids, roll racing and go-to-whoa driving events were among the delights served up by the Myers family at their annual bash, but the main event was, as always, the burnout competition.

It was my first time heading to a Gazzanats event, but having spent years photographing Jake Myers obliterating tyres in the family’s famous ’66 Mustang, S1CKO, I knew it was going to be a wild couple of days. Once gates swung open on the Friday morning, I was keen to check out the top-notch track, which had hosted a Supercars round just a fortnight before. The heat and humidity were certainly a punch in the face, but that would be nothing compared to the sting of methanol and smoke when the pro burnout cars hit the pad in the evening.

MORE Gazzanats 2022 results

One of the perks of hosting the event in the NT is the lack of noise restrictions, thanks to the nearby military airbase, which meant the burnouts could run as late as needed, with the added benefit of cooler evening temperatures – great for drivers and spectators alike.

It was only fitting that Jake got things underway on Friday morning by laying down a powerskid in S1CKO, followed by an invite-only squad of blown cars dubbed the Burnout Legends christening the main straight.

MORE Gazzanats WA 2019 powerskids – Video

Soon, the garages were empty and pit lanes were full as passengers piled into cars for the first of many track cruising sessions – although ‘cruising’ is putting it mildly. Head honcho Gary Myers laid down the law: no popping tyres on the track. Other than that, restrictions were fairly loose, and it wasn’t long until we saw Castlemaine Rod Shop’s WAR-BIRD XP Falcon and Mark Siracusa’s ONIT Torana smoking tyres. Some drivers held it flat on the straight; others drifted around the circuit’s many corners.

All eyes shifted to the burnout pad at 6:30pm as drivers lined up for qualifying, divided into three classes: Four/Six-Cylinder, Naturally Aspirated, and Blown. Justin McKinnis in the MRCHOW Commodore ute was a highlight, as was Jesse Guy, who flew across the pad in his Corolla. Gavin Van Breukelen was one of the few gutsy enough to swing around in the entry chute, spitting flames as he whipped his blown LS1-powered FLACCID Commodore through the tight space. The Blown-class cars ran until 1am, with the majority of spectators sticking around until the last tyre was obliterated.

Saturday welcomed a variety of show ’n’ shine cars. Heath Waddington joined the mix in Castlemaine Rod Shop’s Ferrari V12-powered LC Torana, REAL DEAL, alongside burnout contenders like local Hayden Phipps, who took home Top Engineered in his LS1-powered Mighty Boy.

The superskids finals brought fierce competition, with Rashaan McGowan putting on a show as he fishtailed his turbo AU Falcon across the track. Matt James punished his blown VF, UNWANTED, smoking the tyres and running out of tarmac as he pulled off the longest powerskid, which stretched past the 500-metre mark to win him the top spot, closely followed by Justin Pitsikas in his blown BMW, REFINED.

The action continued with the roll racing sessions. Joseph Murphy’s LS1-powered Belmont wagon went rounds with Sean Blackburn’s show-worthy VL, before the wagon took the win.

As the sun began to set over the skid pad, fans packed the stands to catch the 4pm start of the burnout finals. With plenty of killer prizes on offer, including two golden tickets to the Summernats 37 Pro Burnout series and two Wildcard entries, along with four Pro-class tickets for Red CentreNATS 10, it’s fair to say entrants were fired up.

A couple of tyre fires kept things interesting, but this group knew what they were doing, and the finals progressed without too much carnage, aside from Dwane Pallentine in PEPER IT, who hit the wall but won Sickest Tip-In for his efforts.

When the smoke finally cleared, Chris Orchard was crowned King of Blown Class with a back-to-back Gazzanats win in the GAME OVER VF. Next in line was Chris Smallmon in BLWNVY, followed by Aaron Schilg in the 2IMPRES VT-series HSV.

Justin McKinnis took out the Naturally Aspirated class in MRCHOW, with the KRAZZY VH Commodore of Tyson Smyth in second, followed by Chris Orchard again, this time piloting Ewan Haxton’s Commodore, VKAOS.

Each year, the Myers family does a phenomenal job of orchestrating the massive event that is Gazzanats, helped out by a team of their close family and friends who fly in to lend a hand on the ground. Gary couldn’t have been happier with the growth and support shown for the 2024 outing. “This year was a huge jump. We’re up 60 entries from last year, and 90 per cent of them travelled from interstate,” he said after eight fully loaded transporters had made the trip up north and a staggering 6800 people poured through the gates over the two days.

Next year will mark Gazzanats’ 20th anniversary, and after this year’s go ’round, you’d be mad not to mark it on your calendar.