There was a time when the sleek and powerful American Oldsmobile was the gold standard in mobile starting barrier vehicles at harness racing tracks across Australia.
But the Warragul Harness Racing Club has one of the few classic V8s left in regular service and, with the help of a loyal sponsor, is planning to keep it that way.
“She’s never really been out of use,” said Club Manager Des Hughes.
“Back when we first got the car it was used as the Raceday starting barrier, but nowadays it’s just used for the trials and as the backup, in case the race day mobile breaks down or malfunctions,” Hughes said.
Although mobile barrier starting gates began appearing at Australian tracks from the 1960s, it was in the 1980s and ’90s that mobiles began to replace the traditional standing starts at tracks across the country, and clubs began to seek solutions to switching over.
Thanks to the purchase of the Oldsmobile, the Warragul Pacing Bowl had its own mobile barrier from the early 1990s, in line with a board push for a number of clubs around the State to have their own mobile car.
Club sponsor Graham Stapleton, who operated a neighboring business Warragul Towing and Smash Repairs came on board with the plan, and one of his workers Graeme Buckingham, who had an interest in harness racing, set to work to design and build a compliant mobile barrier system .
“It was all experimental, but they built the arms, the operating system, the whole lot, most of it with tailpipe material for motor vehicles,” Hughes said.
“There was a bit of fundraising by the Warragul Harness Racing Club and the Warragul Light Harness Club, but I don’t think there was ever a great amount of money changed hands – it was a great commitment by Graeme, and he’s been with us along the journey.”
And so has the Oldsmobile.
“She’s a left-hand drive and an absolute beauty – she still goes really well,” Hughes said.
“Over the years it’s occasionally been called into commission at meetings when the board-issued mobile barrier couldn’t get around the track,” he said.
“The mobile arm can take eight horses across, although we only start seven now. It does have pretty big, long arms, so if you’re not dead in the middle of the track, you can clean up the fence pretty easily. That’s happened on a number of memorable occasions!” Hughes laughed.
“It’s been a very interesting vehicle. We’ve had a few mobile drivers over the years, and one of the original drivers, Chick Miller, is our official trials mobile driver now.
“I don’t think there’d be too many Oldsmobile vehicles left in service now in Australia, but we’ve just had it serviced, cut and polished and with new decals on the sides she’ll probably be right for another good few years again now,” he said.
by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink