The "Boxing Day Test" for Australian petrolheads has been shifted to Sydney as Summernats organisers seek to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and provide car lovers with their fix of high-octane action.
The 34th year of the Summernats festival kicked off on Friday at Sydney Dragway in Eastern Creek, but usually takes place in Canberra.
Summernats owner and managing director Andy Lopez on Friday said no more than 4500 people would be permitted at the track per day and mask usage would be strongly recommended to attendees.
The three-day event was shifted north to Sydney in order to make the implementation and enforcement of COVID-safe guidelines at the venue easier.
Prior to the emergence of COVID-19, Summernats would attract up to 100,000 spectators to Canberra to check out some 2500 vehicles.
"It's national, it's like the Boxing Day Test for car lovers - it's that important to that big demographic in Australia," Mr Lopez told AAP.
"We wanted to stage something that we could build to fit within whatever the COVID conditions were at the time, holding the event, something scalable."
Mr Lopez said Friday's activities centred on drag racing, which is new to the Summernats calendar, before a more traditional program on Saturday and Sunday including burnout displays and "Show'N'Shine" events.
Organisers were already planning for a resumed Summernats in 2022.
"People can still come and enjoy seeing some great cars," Mr Lopez said.
The world record for simultaneous burnouts was clinched at the 2019 Summernats, with 126 hot rods burning out at the same time.
