In this the 73rd podcast, Darren Smith and Garry O’Brien are joined by Steve Devries to talk all things in Improved Production, leading up to the Nationals at Island Magic on November 21-23.

As usual, the podcast also catches up on the latest happenings on the state and club motorsport scene and look at what is coming up.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/59834227-bffb-4150-92a2-c2ead2492cf9/

Steve Devries knows all about Improved Production and will be calling the Nationals at Phillip Island, trackside and on the free livestream provided by Blendline TV.

Over the course of the podcast, the three will cover the category from its beginnings as Road Registered, through its changes to Club Cars and onwards to Improved Production.

What started as very state-centric in Victoria and then New South Wales in the mid-1980s with an odd interstate visit from some. It was somewhat formalised with an all-in one race meeting in 1991 – dubbed the Nationals.

Winton Motor Raceway hosted the first two, with Terry Lewis (Mazda RX3) the initial winner and Phil Morris (Datsun 1600) was victorious in 1992.

From there the following year, the Nationals took place at Eastern Creek (now known at Sydney Motorsport Park). Over the years since, it has gone to all states and all racetracks, apart from Sandown Raceway and the Collie Motorplex. There have been 32 Nationals over 34 years, not run twice due to the Covid years.

The podcast reflects on the many winners, names like Ray Hislop who won eight, Roger Hurd (four), Ken Douglas (three) and Kurt Macready with three Under 2.0-litre titles. We remember the cars, from rotaries, turbos and the V8s.

The 2025 Improved Nationals will be the biggest and best yet as the entry boasts three full grids (two O2L and one U2L). It will be the sixth at the Island circuit and fifth as part of Island Magic.

The gents look over the entry and pick out those that should be the ones to beat and run through the format on what is going to be a thrilling weekend of motorsport.

It is also worth catching up on the other entertaining 72 Grassroots Racing Podcasts. We have had many of the big names in the sport, where they discuss where it started for them and their progression through their careers.