Over the Easter long weekend, Rockhampton became home to Queensland's largest car festival - Rockynats 04! The Hardtuned team packed tonnes of merch, loaded our V10 GTR onto the trailer and made the roadtrip north to see what it was all about.

As with all of the national events associated with Summernats and Street Machine, one of the main shows from the long weekend was the burnout competition! Now, for all our international friends who may not know what is involved in this type of competition, let us give you a little run down- it doesn't sound like much but there is a LOT of driver skill involved in scoring high in these events.

Each event is unique, but the general criteria is as follows:Drivers are judged by many factors, but mainly Driver skill, Instant smoke when beginning the burnout, constant smoke throughout the burnout, and lastly volume of smoke throughout the burnout. Points are deducted for burnouts going over (or under) time, hitting walls, fire events and a few other factors.
Keep in mind, these drivers are jumping in cars with in excess of 1000HP engines and beating on them for 1-2 minutes straight, on a pad no wider than 30 metres and barely being able to see 5 metres in front of them.
First, drivers go through rounds of qualifying and the winners are then put into a final showdown to name the burnout champion!Congratulations to this years winners.

Pro Class:
1st: Wal Gersekowski - 1TUFHG
2nd: Jesse Johnson - KILLAK
3rd: Kev Davis - EPAWHO

Open Class:
1st: Shaun Serotzki
2nd: Ryan Borsboom
3rd: Josh Coleman

Quay street of Rockhampton with its river views, was transformed into a show and shine alley over the weekend. With hundreds of entrants showing off their pride and joys, it was an easy way to spend a few hours admiring all of the unique builds Rockynats had to offer. The variety of cars in Quay street was nothing short of amazing. From old Australian classics to modified imports and ground up hot rod builds, they had it all. Even Sam Eyles from Built not Bought had his Twin-charged lifted XC falcon on display, capturing a lot of attention with a perfect example of "because I can"!

On day 1, we noticed Tony cruising past our tent in his pimped out wheelchair! We couldn't let our questions go unanswered so we had to pull him aside and get some more information on this sweet setup. Tony sat with us for around an hour having a good chat about what he does and why he does it, plus his obstacles through life - what a legend he was to speak to.
Tony has been diagnosed with a terminal spinal injury, limiting his everyday life. However, he didn't want to let his bad back get in the way of him doing what he loves - 4 wheel driving and adventuring! He had this 1 of 1 track-driven wheelchair built and is travelling and raising money for the Royal Brisbane Hospital, who literally saved his life.Check out this beast of a wheelchair which he is planning to take on the Old Telegraph track next year!

With over 60,000 people attending throughout the weekend, Rockynats was a success and we will be back again next year to continue supporting this awesome event. Our Viper GTR was a huge hit with the crowd and we are excited to have it back next year running and burning tyres!
Thanks to Mercurial Mouse, long time Hardtuned ambassador, who is a Rocky local for her help and support over the weekend. She had her 350Z drift car on display next to the stand and it looked awesome all weekend.
The dedicated crowds who braved the blistering sun all weekend to support the event and all the vendors, Rockynats wouldn't be what it is without them.
Not to mention countless volunteers and staff of Rockhampton council, Buddys fire crew + others who also braved the heat to ensure a safe and awesome vent for everyone attending. Those fire guys put in some hard yards to keep the burnout pad, drag strip and drift arena safe!