Thousands to attend annual Red Centre NATS motor event in Alice Springs

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Rev heads from around the country have descended on Alice Springs for the 10th anniversary of the Red Centre NATS. Organisers are hopeful the event can shake the trend of a downturn in tourism to the area due to ongoing crime problems.

Transcript

00:00Well, there's no shortage of excitement here in Alice Springs this weekend as muscle cars,

00:06street machines and burnout beasts roll into town for the 10th anniversary of the iconic

00:10event.

00:11Earlier in the week, officials were busy checking off hundreds of cars from around the country

00:15to be sure they are safe to compete in events such as burnouts, drag racing and off-roading.

00:20But the really special part is that once vehicles pass scrutineering, they're given a special

00:24exemption.

00:25Meaning vehicles that are usually deemed unroadworthy in other states can be driven freely on the

00:29streets of Alice Springs for the duration of the event.

00:32And I spoke to a gentleman earlier who had tears in his eyes as he was telling me about

00:36the first time he's been able to drive his Mustang that he'd been working on for years

00:40and years.

00:41There's also a special unveiling happening here at the Red Centre Nats.

00:44Former event grand champion Nigel Waugh's custom build will be on display this weekend.

00:48Now sadly, Nigel passed away last year, but his family continued to build the car and

00:53will showcase it this weekend in his honour.

00:56Along with that, the overall grand champion trophy, which Nigel won in 2022, will actually

01:01be renamed in his honour.

01:02Overall, the event, which is now in its 10th year, has all the usual heavy hitters.

01:07Drag racing, burnout competitions, off-roading, show and shine events and even a petrol-powered

01:11remote-controlled rally race, which I really enjoy each year.

01:15Now, of course, Alice Springs has been in the news headlines for quite some time now

01:19for an extended period of heightened crime in the area.

01:22Organisers believe this shouldn't affect the amount of entries this year and are hoping

01:25it will actually buck the trend for a downturn in tourism in the remote country town.

01:30Needless to say, the sounds of V8s, burnouts and drag racing will be reverberating through

01:35the hills of Alice Springs and I think it might be time I jump in one of these beauties.

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