After 3 months of hard work and planning, the MQ Automotive Society hosted their first Track Day at Luddenham Racecourse over the weekend.

The attendees spent an entire week outside the workshop at 44 waterloo road installing new performance parts on their cars and servicing them in preparation for the track day. It was an enormous team effort, with more than 20 people offering their help and guidance through the process, with some of the services and modifications occurring only days, and in some cases hours, before the track day was underway. It was a fantastic collaboration between all the members of MQAS.

The day began at 6.45am with a meetup at the shell service station on pennant hills road right before the M2. We then convoyed 35km together out to Luddenham Raceway while onlookers in other cars were bewildered seeing 15 track cars driving in sync, cruising along the M2/M4. Once we arrived it was pouring with rain, which is not the most hospitable track condition, but no one seemed deterred. We proceeded to the sign in desk and met the other 30 competitors for the day. There was nervousness, anxiety and excitement running through everyone, especially those who were attending their first track day. However, it didn't take long for the smiles and excitement to show as the first group went out, everything from AWD monsters to FWD daily driven cars. We all lined up soon after, under the 'RED' group, waiting for the green light to set us off onto the track.

From there it was a blur of cars sliding sideways, water thrown across the track, people laughing and throwing their hands through the air in excitement and that didn't die down from 9am when we started racing until 4pm when we packed up. Fortunately there was a period of sunny weather that dried out the track and people were able to really see what their cars were capable of, some seriously fast lap times were set by the group. By the end of the day, It was obvious that all drivers, passengers and spectators were absolutely exhausted! But of course, there was just enough time and energy for a celebratory group photo to conclude the day. All in all it was a fantastic day and there is no doubt there will be more attendees for the next track day.

These track days aim to build a sense of community within the Macquarie University Automotive Society and reach out to students who have a passion for engineering and cars but are hindered by the cost or apprehensive to do it by themselves. Track days enable students to participate in a safe environment and enhance their driving capabilities. It's our goal to engage more students and the wider community with our future events and track days.

- Mitchell Baumgart, MQ Automotive Society

Check out the MQ Automotive Society's Facebook or webpage to find out how you can join the team!