Last year’s inaugural Dubbo MotorFest was a roaring success, with near on 10,000 spectators packing the Dubbo Showground to experience some of Australia’s best show machines.

Organised by the Dubbo Motorcyclist & Drivers Club, the event is set to return to the showground for its 2024 outing on Saturday 31 August, while a special morning cars-and-coffee event will round out the festivities on Sunday 1 September. 

This year, Brad Pizzi from Dubbo’s Stripped Back Customs has jumped onboard with organisers to help curate the MotorFest’s invite-only Elite pavilion and Street Elite display, each of which will boast around 60 cars on the Saturday.

Of the 60-odd rides in the Elite pavilion this year, plenty are former Street Machine feature cars, including:

• Ben Sargent’s HQ coupe 
• Les Lawry’s 1930 Ford Victoria 
• Dave & Lyn Keen’s FJ Holden coupe 
• Rhonda & John Zelukovic’s Studebaker Hawk 
• Carolyn Hayes’s 275NOS LH Torana
• Nathan Booth’s HR ute
• Garry Rosser’s WB-fronted HQ One Tonner
• Craig Dixon’s HQ coupe
• Bill Sharkey’s ’55 Chev
• Todd Bulkeley’s SIRDAT Datsun 1600 coupe
• Charlie Harley’s 1957 Chevy, which won the Grand Champion award at the event last year

“It’s a great opportunity to bring some of these cars to regional Australia and showcase them to people in this way,” Brad says. “I’m stoked with the list, as it’s not often you get the chance to see cars like this in the metal.”

New for this year will be the Street Elite display, just outside the Elite pavilion. Like the Elite showcase, it’ll have around 60 hand-selected machines that will drive to and from the event under their own steam.

If you’re keen to get your car to the MotorFest, you can either enter Street Elite, or the show ’n’ shine if you’re not up for judging and just want to take part.

Two-wheeled fans can enjoy the Elite Bike Hall, and there’ll also be a motorcycle muster on Saturday. 

A trade expo comprising 20-30 stands will showcase some of the region’s best local products as well. “We’ve got the Oxytech crew coming down and a bunch of others,” Brad says.

Punters can also enjoy freestyle motocross demos, helicopter rides, a Kids Zone to entertain the rugrats, and Alcohol Funny Car start-ups to quieten them down. Food stalls, a bar and live entertainment will also be on offer. 

“We’re expecting the same if not bigger numbers compared to last year, so we’re really keen to get this thing out there and have a real crack,” Brad says.

“A big part of that is keeping the entry price low, especially at a challenging time like this,” he continues. “It means it can be a fun day out for the whole family without breaking the bank.” With general admission tickets just $10, it’s hard to disagree!

While the main festival wraps up on Saturday night, there’ll still be plenty of cars returning on Sunday between 9am and 12pm for a cars-and-coffee event, put on by the same organisers. It also saw a massive turn-out last year, so it’ll be worth sticking around for.

To enter your car or bike in the Dubbo MotorFest or buy spectator tickets, head to dubbomotorfest.com.au.