Burning Rubber at Collie Motorplex Race Track

Take your car to Collie Motorplex, a motor racing complex with a sprint track and drag strip. Race against yourself in the scenic region of the South West.

Want to drive your car around a real race circuit? Guess what, you can!  South West’s Collie Motorplex provides a safe environment for car clubs, companies, groups and individuals to all test and tune vehicles as well as prototype modifications. The place is popular for car racing, motorbike racing, drift events and burnout competitions. It’s all about achieving your personal best and improving your skills while having fun.

Located about 2 and a half hours drive south of Perth and 15 minutes east of Collie, Collie Motorplex holds regular events on its 1.6 bitumen race track. Collie Motorplex is home of Motoring southwest, a joint initiative in promoting not only Collie and the South West, but also driver education and safety in youth.

It’s relatively easy getting to Collie Motorplex. It’s well sign posted and maps are available online or you can just Download the Map of Collie Motorplex here.

There is accommodation available at Collie Motorplex, otherwise there is a motel, hotel and bnb style accomodation available in the Collie Town. Contact the Collie River Valley Visitor Centre for details. Depending on the type of event and organiser, free camping is sometimes available on the track grounds the night before too.

What to bring to Collie Motorplex? Well bring everything you think you will need, as facilities at the track are limited to toilets and showers.  It is a good idea to bring tools and basic spare parts for your vehicle, or even better to trailer your car or bike to the track, as any unexpected mechanical failures would otherwise lead to an expensive tow fee back to Perth. Also be sure to bring enough fuel, food and drinks with you, because the canteen facilities may not be open unless there are volunteers present.

My boyfriend drives a BMW E30 3 Series, which is a small sedan from the 1980’s. It is a sporty and fun car to drive, and was in fact the basis for one of the world’s most successful race cars, the ubiquitous BMW E30 M3. We drove the E30 down to Collie Motorplex for some time on the track.

Don’t know too much about the history of the BMW E30 model? Let me enlighten you about its legendary racing icon status. In 1987, Roberto Ravaglia drove a Schnitzer E30 M3 to victory in the World Touring Car Championship, winning the title by a single point. Check out a late 1980’s video of one competing in Tarmac Rally below to get an idea of how lightweight (but powerful) this race car was back in the day:

Following Roberto’s major win, the BMW E30 M3 continued its ongoing success during the Supertouring era in the 1990s, when the 318i and 320i won several touring car national championships, including the BTCC, French Supertouring Championship, Super Tourenwagen Cup, Italian Superturismo and Australian Super Touring Championship.

The BMW E30 is unbelievably easy to drive. Power and handling are in check with each other, and there is what feels like a zen balance to the whole car. You don’t have to concentrate on correcting oversteer or smooth throttle application, but rather just on the track ahead. They’re a lightweight car with moderate amount of power, great brakes and controllable handling, which encourages you to go deeper into a corner, get powered up earlier and push it harder.

So yeah – I guess you can say the BMW E30 is kind of a big deal. 

Which is why every time my boyfriend rides his BMW E30 around Perth, people who know their cars and racing will either give him the thumbs up, yell out the window appraisals at him, or just generally give him a nod of approval.  It’s like a little celebrity! So naturally we took the E30 down to its natural habitat, the race track, to give it a good test run.

Collie Motorplex has a fun little circuit where my boyfriend’s E30 spent most of the day chasing sub $1000 racers preparing for the 24hr “LeMons” budget endurance race (which is due to take place August 18-21st). “LeMons” are cars that cost under $1000 which race to compete. Check out his GoPro footage below to get a good feel of what the track experience was like:

And check out more snaps I took below:

All in all – a fun day out! We really enjoyed ourselves. Everyone was super friendly and mature when it came to testing out their cars on the track. The volunteer staff were absolutely fantastic, they went beyond expectations to make everyone feel happy, comfortable and safe.

About the Town of Collie

Afterwards, we went into the town of Collie for a pub feed and a bit of a look around. Here’s a quick history lesson on Collie. According to the Collie River Valley website, Collie was named after Dr Alexander Collie RN, a ship’s surgeon aboard the HMS Sulphur, who explored the region and in 1829 discovered the river from which Collie took its name. The area was originally recognised as being ideal as pasturelands and for timber production, however with the discovery of coal in 1882, Collie’s direction was set. The town was formally declared a townsite in 1896, growing up to become an important West Australian town supplying the state with coal – an all important resource for power production in railways, shipping and the generation of electricity.

We had breakfast at Colliefields Brasserie Cafe (91 Throssel Street, Collie) a purple building that offers coffee, tea, breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. After midday, we had lunch at the Federal Hotel (47 Throssel Street, Collie) which also boasts a beer garden. One of our highlights in Collie Town was seeing two military vehicles – a Leopard Main Battle Tank and an armoured personnel carrier.

Get the downloadable Collie Visitor Guides of the Collie townsite and Collie region. Or visit http://www.collierivervalley.com.au/ for more information.

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UpComing Events at Collie Motorplex:

• Friday 19th, Saturday 20th, Sunday 21st August – 24 Hours of Lemons: Straight from the USA. You only have $999.000 max budget to purchase the car. The rules are simply, theme your car, dress u p in costume and finish the race and you’re already a winner! It’s a 3 day endurance event to compete 24 hours of driving as a team in stock standard cars! More info visit the 24hoursofLemons website or download the flyer.
• Saturday 3rd September –  Collie Agricultural Society presents The Peoples Choice Show & Shine: Cars, bikes, 4wds, classic, race cars, muscle cars, trucks, club collections, motorcycles, all vehicles welcome with Fathers Day markets including live music, licensed bar, competitions and more. Download the flyer.
• Sunday 4th September – Annual Fathers Day Burnout Competition. Download the flyer.
• Saturday 10th September – Muscle Car Masters Fundraiser for the Leukemia Foundation. Download the flyer.
• Saturday 24th September – East Vs West Ultimate Burnout Challenge (first place $10k). Download the flyer.
• Friday 4th, Saturday 5th, Sunday 6th November – Newest Show in WA, West Coasts Nats. Download the flyer.

Collie Motorplex Details

Website – http://www.motoringsouthwest.org.au/ | Phone: (08) 9734 7477

Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/CollieMotorplex

Facebook Members Group – Collie Motorsports Group –
Contact Hayley Smith – FB Admin & Club Secretary – for any enquiries via email or Facebook.

Lot 643 Powerhouse Road, Collie, WA. Download Driving Directions PDF.

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Have you been to Collie Motorplex? I would love to hear your experience, leave a comment below!

Tahnee