Inside the revival of an age old ritual that shaped a generation.

The Facebook event that attracted headlines across the country started out as an innocent joke between friends. ‘Bring Back Chap Laps’ caused commotion on one of Melbourne’s most infamous streets.

The car meet which took place on the 19th of July, attracted a crowd of over 600–-according to the ‘check-in’ feature online.

Bring Back Chap Laps, organised by Ash Fox and Ethan Penman received backlash from media, the local police and online forums in what the pair say is an unfair assessment of the night. 

“I think that night people just got a bit carried away … getting on the break and really ripping it up, … it was a lot more tame than what the media has released,” Penman said.

‘Chap Laps’ refers to driving up and down a street—usually Chapel Street (as the name suggests) while revving the engine or ‘hooning’. 

Over the days after the event, media outlets have described ‘chaos’ that unfolded on the busy street. 
With videos featured in media coverage including crowds watching on as drivers revved their cars up and down the street usually filled with night-life.

Crowds filled the street, with families and those on a night out filling the sidewalk entirely to watch on.

An event that originally began as an inside joke now has the power to create change, with Penman and Fox intending to foster community and support local businesses. With such a large turnout for ‘Bring Back Chap Laps’, the pair expressed interest in hosting a second event, where the encore will focus on educating the younger generation about cars.

“It’s still going to be on a Saturday night, but we’re gonna organise it for about 5:30-6:00PM, people can bring their families down … if people want to go to Chapel Street after that, it’s entirely on them.” Fox said.