Community & Business
25 March, 2025
Millmerran Auto Club notches 50 years
On Saturday, Millmerran Auto Club (MAC) celebrated 50 years since its inception with an historic track parade, and gala dinner at the Mill Inn Tavern, where over 160 past and present members reminisced on the club’s success throughout the years.
Guest speakers Graham Erhart and Royston Evans shared their memories and stories from the years they spent at the Reserve Raceway in Millmerran.
Photos and memorabilia were a talking point for many and fond memories resurfaced watching the old footage at the track from decades earlier.
Murray Parker said he was excited to see the old footage where he made a few appearances from his early days racing at the track.
“There’s some pretty cool footage that we were able to source and digitalise to have for the next 50 years,” Mr Parker said.
His old Cortina race car is still in the family and continues to race at Millmerran, and Pittsworth Sprints, driven by his son Ben.
All living past and present Presidents of MAC were at the gala dinner.
They were John Frazer (first President), Lindsay Simmons (President for 21 years), Rob Arnold, Graeme Kelly and Dan Kelly (current President).
The dinner was preceded by a morning at the track, where some beloved rust-buckets made an appearance for the first time in more than 30 years.
Organiser of the celebrations, Ken Iseppi, said he was particularly keen to see Lindsay Simmons’ Torana, after sitting since its last race at the track in the mid 1990s.
“It was rumoured to still have track mud under the car, that’s never been washed off!” Mr Iseppi said.
The Social Car Club and Gore Highway Cruisers hosted a Show and Shine at the track, and locals took part as well.
The Pittsworth Men’s Shed cooked barbecue lunch, and ice cream and coffee vans offered refreshments.
MAC is run completely by volunteers and some of those volunteers were present at the first meeting in John Frazer’s shed in December 1975.
The race track was built under Mr Frazer’s watchful eye before Lindsay Simmons took hold of the Presidency and commenced competition racing.
“The original safety fence was short with railway sleepers which is a huge difference to what the track looks like now,” Mr Simmons said.
“The original pits were in the middle of the track and the hairpin was very tight in the early days which was later altered."
He raced through to the middle of the 1980s and has been Clerk of the Course since then, missing only a few race meets in the 50 years of racing.
The club has continuously seen membership grow and has a dedicated committee running the Dirt Sprints at Reserve Raceway and large sub-committees operating the Pittsworth Sprints and the Gore Highway Cruisers.
Graeme Kelly, who was in attendance at the first meeting in 1975, still drives the water truck for the Dirt Sprints and prepares the track which is second to none.
With their significant history with the club, some of the younger committee members still look to Mr Kelly and Mr Simmons for support and guidance.
The first secretary of MAC, Howard Flynn continues to help out as the official mower man, and keeps the track looking its best.
This grassroots motor sport club may not be in the big smoke, but to draw a cohort of 60 race cars to the track for five race meets each year, and 200 cars to the annual Pittsworth Sprints, there is nothing small about this club.
Big in heart and passion, the members and volunteers make the club a success.
