General News
1 October, 2026
Revved up for motorsport
Rainbow is gearing up for a huge weekend of motorsport for the ARYA Pulses: Weekend in the Dirt at the Rainbow Rises Event Complex, bringing together modified tractor pulling, vintage tractor pulling, and the Keith Fischer Memorial Sand Drags.
Rainbow is gearing up for a huge weekend of motorsport for the ARYA Pulses: Weekend in the Dirt at the Rainbow Rises Event Complex, bringing together modified tractor pulling, vintage tractor pulling, and the Keith Fischer Memorial Sand Drags.
The tractor pulling event features purpose-built competition machines working to get as far down the track as possible while pulling an increasingly difficult weight sled.
The Open Modified Class includes a local tractor, ‘Sledgehammer’.
Powered by a 14-litre V8 Scania engine producing around 2000HP, Sledgehammer’s drivetrain incorporates a Crower clutch, ProFab two-speed transmission and Scania differential, all built to deal with the enormous loads created when the tractor hooks onto the weighted sled.
“We’ve had a good run so far in the last couple of years, so I'm hoping we can continue that,” Sledgehammer co-owner Fred Saul said.
“You just never know what the opposition have done, but hopefully we can continue with the success we’ve had.”
Competing in the super modified class, ‘Woteva’ runs on twin 350 cubic-inch Chevrolet V8 engines.
The twin-engine package feeds through a Road Ranger transmission and Steiger rear end, creating a heavy-duty drivetrain designed to cope with the combined power of both engines as Woteva attacks the track.
The tractor pulling engineering variety continues with mini modified competitor ‘Mad House’.
Mad House runs a 351 cubic-inch Ford Cleveland V8, a stock C10 transmission and Ford nine-inch differential.
The Weekend in the Dirt is hosting an Australian first in 2026, with tractor pulling and sand drags running on the same weekend, offering spectators and fans an exciting variety of machinery.
The Keith Fischer Memorial Sand Drags will provide a completely different type of straight-line motorsport, as competitors race side-by-side over a 150-metre sand strip.
Among the machines heading to Rainbow is a 2007 Kawasaki ZX10 motorcycle producing approximately 175HP.
Over just 150m, the bikes can reach approximately 140-160km/h.
Zambuka Express, a wild three-wheeler, is powered by a Chevrolet 383 stroker engine, backed by a two-speed Powerglide transmission, and is estimated to produce between 500 and 600 horsepower.
Three wheels, a big-cube Chevrolet V8 and a 150-metre strip of sand made Zambuka Express one of the more unusual machines spectators will see at Rainbow.
Classes include Unlimited bikes capable of running car engines, Nitro Harleys, Extreme Harleys, Competition bikes, Sportsters, modified street bikes, speedway and long-track machines, classic bikes and sidecars, purpose-built buggies, trikes and quads.
Vintage Tractor Pulling brings another dimension to the weekend and provides an interesting contrast to the highly modified competition machines.
It gives spectators the opportunity to see the agricultural machinery and traditional tractors that sit much closer to the origins of tractor pulling, alongside machines showing what decades of modification and engineering development have created.
There will be no shortage of mechanical variety for motorsport fans at the Rainbow Rises Event Complex on Saturday 3 and Sunday, October 4.
Tickets are only available for purchase at the gate.
Gates open at 8.30am, with engines starting at 9am.
Adult tickets (16+) are $30, and children’s tickets from 8 to 16 are $10.
Kids under 8 are free.