Vroom vroom: Thousands turn out for adrenaline-fuelled fun at the Valley of the Kings

FROM Supercars super fans to returning Territorians remembering how good we have it, thousands have turned out at Hidden Valley on Saturday to enjoy good company and the smell of burning rubber

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FROM Supercars super fans to returning Territorians remembering how good we have it, thousands turned out at Hidden Valley on Saturday to enjoy good company and the smell of burning rubber.

There was every chance the event-cancelling coronavirus pandemic could have broken Darwin River man Anthony James Hobden’s 22 year Supercars attending streak, something that would have been “devastating” for the Holden fan that’d already been hit by the exit of the iconic brand from Australia.

Picture gallery: Fans fire up for Darwin Supercars

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“I was not happy at all (that the Supercars ma y not have gone ahead),” he said.

“Used to get here every year and suddenly not being able to come, though all I got this year was a piece of paper (ticket).”

Mr Hobden, who usually gets a three-day pass, has saved memoribilia from every Darwin Supercars he’s been to since 1998.

This year, in light of General Motors killing of the Holden brand, Mr Hobden flew the flag alongside other car brands that have been discontinued.

Pandemic safety plan restrictions meant the usual 30,000 to 40,000 strong crowds were restricted to just 4,500, though it is understood that limit was not hit on day 1 of the Darwin Supercars double-header.

The Darwin Supercars is returning Territorians Jason Hiscox and Debra Brook’s first big day out. Picture: GLENN CAMPBELL

For Jason Hiscox and Debra Brook, Supercars was their first major outing since packing up their lives in Cairns and moving back to the Territory.

Health workers by trade, the pair had spent a decade in Queensland and had owned a pie shop before the pandemic caused tourism, and in turn their business, to plummet.

The Territory’s border measures, which allows travelers not from hot spots to enter freely, meant Charters Towers boy Eli-Michael Hart, 4, could come to Darwin to watch the race.

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The BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown, one of the most elusive trophies on the Supercars circuit, will be awarded to the driver with the most points after three 38-lap rounds.

Gates open at 10am Sunday, with the last race scheduled to begins at 3.30pm.