Legendary NSW dirt track gutted by bushfire

As Australia braces for a long, hot, dry summer, bushfires have already wreaked carnage across the country, with lives and properties lost to the raging infernos.

An example of a bushfire's frightening potential came to light when the Colo Heights off-road racing facility where we'd shot a feature only a couple of months ago had been razed.

The wooded area lies about an hour and a half west of Sydney, and fell victim to a fire that tore through the area in mid-November (below).

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The off-road circuit has long been a fixture of the racing landscape, with several clubs using the facility for dirt-based sprints - and to store their cars.

While some of the facility survived, about 20 cars stored on site by the club were completely incinerated, along with equipment like graders, fire extinguishers and other club gear.

Such was the ferocity of the blaze, logs still smouldered two weeks after the fires did their best, and club members from Sydney-based ToyoSports Car Club of NSW - our hosts for the Subaru story - made the pilgrimage to examine the damage.

The absolute destruction is easy to see. Alloy rims are reduced to puddles; something that's only possible at temperatures in excess of 600 degrees C.

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The cars on-site formed the basis of the club's 'khanacross' fleet, and while their physical value wasn't high, the loss is still pretty significant.

Happily, the club tells us that a major vehicle auction house may come to the party and help with a source of suitable cars to allow members to rebuild the fleet.

The club is also working alongside the Sydney Off-road Racing Association, which operates the circuit under a lease, to rebuild in time for meetings in early 2020, and we wish them all the very best.

Check the gallery at the top of the page for the pics, with thanks to the crew at ToyoSports Car Club of NSW.