Racewars has announced a new event for 2022, bringing the first-ever roll racing to Perth Motorplex.

A spinoff of the popular Albany runway sprint, Racewars Motorplex will run from Friday, February 25 to Sunday, February 27.

With intensive maintenance work leaving Albany Airport runway unavailable, Racewars founder and director Jon Murray turned to America’s TX2K roll racing meet for inspiration.

“A few of us had wanted to go to the TX2K, and seeing as we couldn’t have our runway or go to Texas, we thought ‘why not have our own go at something similar in Perth?”

Standing eighth-mile and quarter-mile racing will feature alongside 1520ft roll racing, which will provide opportunities for new cars. “There are a lot of people who can’t participate in the [standing 1000m] runway event just because their cars aren’t geared for it, so we’ll see what they’ve got,” says Jon.

Nearly 10 hours of active track time has been planned for each day, making for an action-packed roster.

The accessible nature of the Motorplex should bolster attendance numbers. “A remote event [like Racewars] where people have to drive five hours and spend the weekend attracts a different audience to people who are already right there in Perth,” Jon points out.

Skids, a show ‘n’ shine, and live entertainment will fill out the extended weekend.

Big hitters have yet to be confirmed, with Jon so far concentrating on the “nuts and bolts” from his workplace — a gold mine in eastern Egypt.

Jon, who has years of experience coordinating roll racing at his runway events, says the Motorplex has been highly receptive to the concept. “The Motorplex has been nothing but supportive in working with us really, really well — I couldn’t speak highly enough of the team there.”

Though the Albany Airport runway is currently under repair, Jon hopes to once again host the traditional Racewars southern WA come late 2022. “It’s the biggest event in the region and they’re keen to have us there, so we’ll find a way to get it done.”

The last Racewars was held in March 2020, just a week before COVID restrictions shuttered Australia. The ongoing pandemic nixed this year’s running, as organisers erred on the side of caution. “Even though WA was always open, the possibility of an outbreak and sudden lockdown meant we couldn’t justify that risk” says Jon.

If all goes to plan, Jon says Racewars will become a regular fixture on Perth Motorplex’s calendar. “We’ll always be about runway racing, but if we can also have this US streetcar-style event at a dragstrip, why not?

“We love motorsport, we love racing and we love car culture, so we’ll take any excuse to get together and enjoy our toys.”

Keep an eye on the Racewars Facebook page for more details and fresh announcements.