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 famous streets.

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

Bring Back Chap Laps, organised by Ash Fox and Ethan Penman received backlash from media, 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 — while revving the engine or ‘hooning’. 

Over the days after the event, media outlets have described ‘chaos’ that unfolded on the night. Media coverage included onlookers crowding walkways as drivers revved their cars up and down the street.The crowd featured both families and those on a night out, who entirely filled the sidewalk, watching as the scene unfolded.

The event was originally an inside joke now has the power to create change, with Penman and Fox intending to use this traction as a way 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, with the encore focusing on educating the younger generation on cars.

“It’s still going to be on a Saturday night, but we’re gonna organise it for about 5:30 to 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.