PORTLANDER Brent Murray has become the first person in the history of the Red CentreNATS to win the event twice, as he and his 1968 Dodge Dart took out the overall championship in the ninth running of the event just over a fortnight ago.

The Red CentreNATS is an annual competition which takes place in Alice Springs, with participants having to put their cars through the ringer in four separate categories: showcase, drag racing, motorkhana (a test of the car’s handling through a bitumen short course) and a grass track event.

Murray, who is a born and bred local resident with a love for restoring classic cars, said he certainly hadn’t come into the event expecting to take it out for a second time, especially given the context surrounding his entrance into the event.

“I had let my drag licence lapse before the event, so I didn’t really get any preparation coming into it,” Murray said.

“The car performs pretty well in the showcase and drags… I was a bit more concerned about the motorkhana and grass track because it’s not really set up for that type of event, but it actually smashed it.

“I still actually didn’t think I’d won it… I was towards the back of the crowd and when they read the number out, so I had to shuffle my way through to get up and collect it.

“(The event) is a really cool experience… I’ll definitely be returning next year for the 10th anniversary event, they want all the past grand champions to be there.

“We’ll see if we can go for a third, it’s unlikely but possible of course.”

Murray’s other win came in the fifth instalment of the event, and he said the trials and tribulations of that prepared him for what was to come this time around.

“The alternator belt came off that time, along with the supercharger belt… this year the air cleaner on the supercharger came off while we were travelling at about 220 km/h, and there were just bits flying everywhere.

“I couldn’t believe that we were able to find the whole lot that came off… if we hadn’t been able to do that, I wouldn’t have been able to continue, I was going to ruin a brand-new motor with no air cleaner with the amount of dust that was around.

“People were telling me to make sure all the screws are in tight next time I come along… but it looks like I do better when parts are flying everywhere.”

A life-long passion

Restoring and competing with classic cars is something which goes beyond a hobby for Murray, as his business, BJM Panels, is primarily centred around helping to restore and maintain iconic vehicles.

“I grew up across the road from Ace Crash Repairs… I ended up working there for about 30 years,” he said.

“I went out on my own about seven years ago… it was the best decision I ever made.

“I do different work now to what I was doing at Ace, my focus is on ‘resto’ work, it’s stuff I love doing anyway, seeing the car leave a completely different vehicle to the one that came in… you get a lot of satisfaction out of it.

“They’re not cheap, but people put hours and hours of work into these cars so it’s clearly something that’s important for a lot of people.”

He said a lot of the cars which come through are classic Australian vehicles, with Holden Monaros and Toranas being particular favourites.

“But we’ve also had a few Nissan GT-Rs come through… I just finished with one recently actually… and we get some American cars as well,” he said.

“It’s funny because you often get a run on with a particular model of car… which is good because by the time you’re doing your third Torana in a row you kind of know the ins and outs of it.

“It’s great because both of my older sons have become panel beaters as well, one is working here with me the other is out at the smelter, but he did his trade at Ace as well... it’s become a bit of a family thing I guess.”