The event will also be the first time in more than 10 years that the full 1.6km track will be used, as the course had been shortened to just over 1000m for previous events, due to safety concerns.

Ararat Car club president Chris Harwood said it took a lot of work to extend the track but is looking forward to seeing it in action at the weekend.

“The club has been working on upgrading the safety of the track for 10 years and when the club got the hill climb event up and going again, it was always an aim to eventually get the full track back in action,” he said.

“The ultimate aim was to get the long track back up and it is our 10^th year, so we have achieved it within the timeframe we wanted and have done it mostly off our own back.

“The main thing was we need to have the safety rail put in, which was about $60,000 worth of investment.

“We are proud of the fact we were able to do it without much financial support from other organisations and we ticked off all the other safety requirements in place, so it is right to go.”

The Peter Hall Memorial State of Origin Challenge will also be up for grabs with South Australia looking to defend its title against the Victorian drivers at the weekend.

Harwood said the beauty of the long track being implemented is there is no benchmark set.

“If you go up in the quickest time, you will have the track record until someone beats it, it may only be a few minutes but that is still a big thing to have," he said.

As the track has been extended, it means more safety marshalls will be needed.

Harwood said it is something they were mindful of when planning for the track extension.

“As any organisation that relies on volunteers, we do struggle to get them to help but we do have a lot of people who want to help,” he said.

“A lot of people who get involved as volunteers end up racing their own car, so we are always looking for new volunteers but we are excited for the hill climb event this weekend.”