It has been 20 years since Terry Grieve last raced his XA Falcon GT. But the white GT will return to the track at the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) at Benaraby Dragway on October 7.

“The XA GT has been in storage for the 20 years,” Grieve says, “and we are in the process of putting all the original bits back in to make it all original and very similar to where it was two decades ago.

Terry Grieve with his XA Falcon GT which has been dusted off after being garaged for the last 20 years.


“Hopefully it will run faster than it did before, and we can have no problems and be competitive.

“Getting back in the seat won’t be an issue. I remember at RockyNats last year I was a bit nervy, but after a couple of laps it was gold.”

Grieve started racing in his late teens and is keen to get back into it after his extended time away.

“I started racing in the mid-‘80s and I certainly got the bug. I still have a trophy from 1986/1987, and I also won two CQDRA Track Championships along the way. Life and various things just get in the way, so I stepped away for a while.

“I think it is absolutely awesome what the NDRC is doing. Having these kinds of meetings around the country is great and to have a chance of winning a Christmas Tree trophy is unbelievable.

“I think the number of events that are on as well with the Eastern and Western Conference arrangement and the way they have structured it all is great and a really good, positive change.

“It is because of the NDRC that I am coming back. If not for that and the fact my son Joel is now racing in Modified Bike, I probably would have just continued on my way watching events but not actually competing.

“I believe this will only be the second time we will have this kind of national-level meeting at Benaraby, with the last being the Sunstate Nationals back in the late 1980s, so this is really exciting.”

Grieve says he has been pleased also to see how Benaraby Dragway has evolved over his time away.

“Benaraby is 20 minutes from my home, so it is my home track in every sense of the word.

“I hadn’t been there for a few years and neither had my son, and when we went there earlier in the year, we were pleased to see some massive improvements made over the years.

“The pits, the bitumen return roads, the facilities, the shade on the hill – all of these things were a distant dream a few years ago.”

The October 7 Aeroflow National Sportsman Series event at Benaraby Dragway will mark the latest Eastern Conference event of the championship chase. For further information, visit www.nationaldragracing.com.au

Tags:  falcon gt