Sydney Motorsport Park (known until May 2012 as Eastern Creek International Raceway) is a motorsport circuit located on Brabham Drive, Eastern Creek (40-kilometres west of the Sydney CBD),[1] New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to the Western Sydney International Dragway. It was built and is owned by the New South Wales Government and is operated by the Australian Racing Drivers Club. The circuit is one of only two permanent tracks in Australia with an FIA Grade 2 license[2] and is licensed for both cars and motorcycles.

Sydney Motorsport Park

"The Home of Australian Motorsport"
Location	Eastern Creek, New South Wales
Time zone	UTC+10:00
Coordinates	33°48′15″S 150°52′14″E
FIA Grade	2[N 1]
Operator	Australian Racing Drivers Club
Opened	10 November 1990; 32 years ago (1990-11-10)
Former names	Eastern Creek International Raceway (November 1990–May 2012)
Major events	Current: Supercars Championship Sydney SuperNight (1992–1997, 1999–2005, 2007–2008, 2012, 2014–2018, 2020–present) S5000 (2021–present) Former: Grand Prix motorcycle racing Australian motorcycle Grand Prix (1991–1996) Australian GT Championship (2005–2015, 2018, 2020) S5000 Tasman Series (2021) A1 Grand Prix (2005, 2007–2008)
Brabham Circuit (Extended Circuit)
Length	4.500 km (2.796 miles)
Turns	18
Race lap record	1:50.2739 ( Bryan Sala, Matich A50, 2012, Formula 5000)
Gardner Circuit (Grand Prix Circuit)
Length	3.930 km (2.442 miles)
Turns	11
Race lap record	1:19.1420 ( Nico Hülkenberg, Lola A1GP, 2007, A1 Grand Prix)
Druitt Circuit (North Circuit)
Length	2.800 km (1.740 miles)
Turns	8
Race lap record	0:59.6077 (Chris Farrell, Swift 014, 2012, Formula Atlantic)
Amaroo Circuit (South Circuit)
Length	1.800 km (1.118 miles)
Turns	13
Race lap record	0:52.1357 (Dean Tighe, Dallara-Judd, 2019, NSW Super Sprint State Championships)
Website	www.sydneymotorsportpark.com.au

History

The development of circuit was approved in 1989[3] and construction began soon after. However, construction was delayed by poor weather and debates over land ownership. A test race open to Superbikes was held in July 1990 and the circuit was officially opened by then-New South Wales Minister for Sport Bob Rowland-Smith on 10 November 1990 with the running of the Nissan Sydney 500 endurance race for Group A touring cars. In 1991, the consortium formed to fund the circuit suffered financial problems and the complex was purchased by the New South Wales Government.[4] The pit facilities provide fifty garages with direct access to the paddock area and a covered 4,000-seat grandstand overlooks the finish line, providing a view of the majority of the circuit. Events are held at the circuit on most weekends during the year.[2]

Redevelopment

On 11 August 2006, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Ron Dickson, the A1 Grand Prix circuit designer who also designed the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, suggested that Sydney Motorsport Park was not up to modern standards and needed to be upgraded.[5] On 28 April 2008, it was announced that Apex Circuit Design Ltd. had been commissioned to perform a $350,000 feasibility study on upgrading the track to suit more purposes and hold larger events such as the Australian Formula One Grand Prix,[6] however nothing came of this proposed upgrade.

In early 2011, the circuit received funding for a $9 million upgrade, with the New South Wales Government providing $7 million and the Australian Racing Drivers Club funding the other $2 million.[7] The upgrade reconfigured the circuit into four layouts, with two able to be operated at the same time, with a total length of 4.5 kilometres. The upgrade also included an additional pit lane facility to cater for the new configuration, a new race control tower and new amenities buildings.[2] Work on the upgrades began in June 2011, with a new piece of road joining turns four and nine.[8] This link road, finished in October 2011, created the new "Druitt Circuit", also known as the North Circuit.[9] The 830-metre extension on the south-eastern part of the circuit was completed in May 2012 to create the new "Amaroo Circuit" (or South Circuit). On 21 May 2012, the circuit was renamed from Eastern Creek International Raceway to Sydney Motorsport Park.[10] Construction of the new pit lane between turns four and five also began at this time.

Configurations

Brabham (Extended) Circuit

Gardner (Grand Prix) Circuit

Druitt (North) Circuit

Amaroo (South) Circuit

Major events

The turn one spectator hill.

The race control building and the main pit lane.

The secondary pit lane constructed for the South Circuit. The main pit lane and grandstand can be seen in the background.

Motorcycling

After the first Australian motorcycle Grand Prix held at Phillip Island in 1989, there was a conflict over advertising between the Victorian Government and the tobacco industry, who were major sponsors of the Grand Prix teams. The New South Wales Government saw this as an opportunity to bring the race to Sydney and in October 1990, a deal was made for the Grand Prix to be held at what was then known as Eastern Creek International Raceway from 1991 to 1993. The race remained at the circuit until 1996 before returning to Phillip Island in 1997.[4]

The circuit has also hosted rounds of the Australian Superbike Championship.

Australian motorcycle Grand Prix winners

Year	125 cc	250 cc	500 cc
1991	Loris Capirossi	Luca Cadalora	Wayne Rainey
1992	Ralf Waldmann	Luca Cadalora	Michael Doohan
1993	Dirk Raudies	Tetsuya Harada	Kevin Schwantz
1994	Kazuto Sakata	Max Biaggi	John Kocinski
1995	Haruchika Aoki	Ralf Waldmann	Michael Doohan
1996	Garry McCoy	Max Biaggi	Loris Capirossi

A1 Grand Prix

The Australian round of the A1 Grand Prix championship was held at Sydney Motorsport Park from the 2005–06 season to the 2007–08 season. During the 2006–07 event on 4 February 2007, German driver Nico Hülkenberg set the outright lap record for the original circuit layout with a 1:19.142 lap time in the A1 Team Germany prepared Lola-Zytek.[11]

A1 Grand Prix winners

Year	Driver	Car	Entrant
2005–06	Nicolas Lapierre	Lola A1GP-Zytek	A1 Team France
	Nicolas Lapierre	Lola A1GP-Zytek	A1 Team France
2006–07	Nico Hülkenberg	Lola A1GP-Zytek	A1 Team Germany
	Nico Hülkenberg	Lola A1GP-Zytek	A1 Team Germany
2007–08	Loïc Duval	Lola A1GP-Zytek	A1 Team France
	Adrian Zaugg	Lola A1GP-Zytek	A1 Team South Africa

Touring cars

A V8 Supercar race in 2008.

A V8 Supercar race in 2014.

Prior to the main race at the inaugural Sydney SuperNight 300 in 2018.

The first touring car event at the circuit was the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500, an endurance race which was the final round of both the 1990 Australian Endurance Championship and the 1990 Australian Manufacturers' Championship. In the early 1990s, the circuit also hosted the Winfield Triple Challenge, an event which featured Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) teams and drivers alongside Superbikes and drag racing.

The circuit first hosted a championship round of the ATCC (now known as V8 Supercars) in 1992 and held a round every year, excluding 1998 and 2006, until 2008. Further to this, the circuit hosted the season-ending Grand Finale in 2003 and 2004, with Marcos Ambrose winning the round and the championship title on both occasions.[12] In 2009 the circuit was dropped in favour of the Sydney 500 on the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit.[13] The circuit returned to the V8 Supercars calendar in 2012 after V8 Supercars failed to secure a second international event.[14] After another year off the calendar in 2013, the circuit has returned to the calendar from 2014 onwards.

The official pre-season V8 Supercar test day was held at the circuit in 2011[14] and 2013 to 2015. The 2013 test day was the first time that the four Car of the Future manufacturers appeared together at a public event.[15] The 2015 test day clashed with the 2015 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, preventing V8 Supercars drivers from competing in the race.[16]

ATCC / V8 Supercar round winners

Year	Driver	Car	Entrant
Group A
1992	John Bowe	Ford Sierra RS500	Dick Johnson Racing
Group 3A Touring Cars
1993	Glenn Seton	Ford EB Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing
1994	Peter Brock	Holden VP Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1995	Mark Skaife	Holden VR Commodore	Gibson Motorsport
1996	Craig Lowndes	Holden VR Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1997	Glenn Seton	Ford EL Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing
V8 Supercars
1999	Mark Skaife	Holden VT Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2000	Mark Skaife	Holden VX Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2001	Mark Skaife	Holden VX Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2002	Mark Skaife	Holden VX Commodore	Holden Racing Team
20031	Marcos Ambrose	Ford BA Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
	Marcos Ambrose	Ford BA Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
20041	Rick Kelly	Holden VY Commodore	Kmart Racing Team
	Marcos Ambrose	Ford BA Falcon	Stone Brothers Racing
2005	Craig Lowndes	Ford BA Falcon	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2007	Mark Skaife	Holden VE Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2008	Will Davison	Ford BF Falcon	Dick Johnson Racing
2012	Craig Lowndes	Holden VE Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2014	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden VF Commodore	Tekno Autosports
2015	Chaz Mostert	Ford FG X Falcon	Prodrive Racing Australia
2016	Jamie Whincup	Holden VF Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2017	Fabian Coulthard	Ford FG X Falcon	DJR Team Penske
2017	Fabian Coulthard	Ford FG X Falcon	DJR Team Penske
2018	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden ZB Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
20201	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Mustang GT	DJR Team Penske
	Scott McLaughlin	Ford Mustang GT	DJR Team Penske
20214	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden ZB Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
	Anton de Pasquale	Ford Mustang GT	Dick Johnson Racing
	Anton de Pasquale	Ford Mustang GT	Dick Johnson Racing
	Shane van Gisbergen	Holden ZB Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2022	Chaz Mostert	Holden ZB Commodore	Walkinshaw Andretti United

Notes

• ^1 – Sydney Motorsport Park hosted two rounds of the 2003, 2004 and 2020 V8 Supercar Championship Series.
• ^2 – Sydney Motorsport Park hosted four rounds of the 2021 V8 Supercars Championship Series.

Winfield Triple Challenge

Between 1992 and 1995, the circuit hosted a non-championship Triple Challenge event in late January consisting of touring cars, Superbikes and drag racing. The event was backed by the Winfield cigarette brand, to promote their sponsorship of all three categories of racing. Glenn Seton Racing, sponsored by rival cigarette brand Peter Jackson, won the touring car element of the event in all four years, with eponymous team owner/driver Glenn Seton winning three.[17] In practice for the 1995 event, the Winfield-backed entry of Mark Skaife had a major accident at Turn 1, hitting concrete drag racing barriers which resulted in injuries that forced him to miss the first round of the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship.[18] The event concluded with the ban of cigarette advertising in Australia at the end of 1995.

Touring car winners

Year	Driver	Car	Entrant
1992	Glenn Seton	Ford Sierra RS500	Glenn Seton Racing
1993	Glenn Seton	Ford EB Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing
1994	Glenn Seton	Ford EB Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing
1995	Alan Jones	Ford EB Falcon	Glenn Seton Racing

Muscle Car Masters

An event organised and promoted by Australian Muscle Car magazine, the Muscle Car Masters is held on Father's Day every year. The event includes races and demonstration laps featuring Australian muscle cars and ex-race cars from the 1950s to the 1990s. Regular racing classes include Group N, Group C, Group A and Touring Car Masters while different car clubs have their cars on display each year and take part in demonstration laps. Historically significant cars in Australian motorsport are also present and complete laps of the circuit. While the main focus is on the history of Australian touring car racing, other classes, such as Formula 5000, have also appeared.

Music venue

In the 1990s, the venue held a number of rock concerts and music festivals including Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, the Alternative Nation festival and the Colossus 2 dance festival.[2] Music festivals returned to the circuit in 2009 and 2010 when it hosted the Soundwave Festival for both years.[19]

Lap records

Daniel Ricciardo drove a Red Bull Racing RB7 Formula One car during the Top Gear Festival at the circuit in March 2014 and set a time of 1:11.2330. However, as this time was not recorded during a race, it does not count as a lap record.[20]

As of 20 November 2021.

Unless otherwise stated, all records shown are for the original Gardner (Grand Prix) Circuit.

Class	Driver	Vehicle	Time	Date
Outright	Nico Hülkenberg	Lola A1GP	1:19.1420	4 February 2007
Racing Cars
A1 Grand Prix	Nico Hülkenberg	Lola A1GP	1:19.1420	4 February 2007
Formula Holden	Tim Leahey	Reynard 92D	1:22.5131	26 March 2000
Formula Three	Nick Foster	Mygale M08	1:22.6290	13 July 2013
S5000	Joey Mawson	Ligier JS F3–S5000	1:25.6076	28 May 2022
Formula 5000	Alex Davison	Lola T332	1:26.8987	7 June 2015
Formula Libre/Historic	Ty Hanger	Ralt RT4	1:27.6786	5 November 2005
Superkarts	Warren McIlveen	Stockman 115 Honda	1:28.1133	5 July 2015
Formula Two	Arthur Abrahams	Cheetah Mk.8	1:29.3500	25 August 1991
Formula 4	Nick Rowe	Mygale M14-F4	1:31.5520	19 August 2017
Formula Ford	Cameron Hill	Mygale SJ10A	1:34.5519	5 July 2015
Formula Ford Kent	Rob Storey	Spirit WL07 Ford	1:38.9196	22 September 2007
Formula Vee 1600	Mitchel Martin	Sabre 02	1:46.7250	26 August 2012
Formula Vee 1200	Jay Hall	Jacer Volkswagen	1:50.9297	25 September 2005
Sports Cars
Radical Australia Cup	James Winslow	Radical SR8	1:25.7027	14 July 2013
Supersports/Sports Racer	Adam Proctor	Stohr WF1	1:26.7160	13 July 2014
GT Sports Cars	George Miedecke	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	1:27.7611	27 August 2016
Production Sports	Allan Simonsen	Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 GT3	1:28.0570	28 May 2011
Carrera Cup	Steven Richards	Porsche 911 (991 I) GT3 Cup	1:30.9042	24 August 2014
Porsche GT3 Cup	Jaxon Evans	Porsche 911 (997) GT3 Cup 3.8	1:32.2420	2 July 2016
Nations Cup	Paul Stokell	Lamborghini Diablo GTR	1:33.5918	18 July 2004
Clubman Sports	Chris Barry	PRB Clubman	1:38.7875	23 June 2002
Aussie Racing Cars	Joshua Anderson	Camaro-Yamaha	1:42.0702	30 April 2021
Porsche 944	Chris Lewis-Williams	Porsche 944	1:45.9016	20 May 2012
Historic Sports Cars
Group Sc	Geoff Morgan	Porsche 911 Carrera	1:45.8382	7 June 2015
Group Sb	Kevin Luke	Shelby Mustang GT350	1:49.6999	7 June 2015
Group Sa	Peter Jackson	Austin-Healey 3000 MkI	1:51.8841	28 May 2011
Touring Cars
World Time Attack Challenge	Barton Mawer	Porsche 968	1.19.277	18 October 2019
Sports Sedan	Tony Ricciardello	Alfa Romeo GTV-Chevrolet	1:28.9391	15 July 2012
Supercars Championship	Jamie Whincup	Holden ZB Commodore	1:29.8424	4 August 2018
Super2 Series	Tyler Everingham	Nissan Altima L33	1:32.2390	20 November 2021
Trans Am Australia	Owen Kelly	Ford Mustang Trans Am	1:33.7815	1 May 2021
Super Touring	Cameron McLean	BMW 320i	1:33.8642[21]	7 June 1998
Super3 Series	Blake Fardell	Holden VE Commodore	1:34.4490	20 November 2021
TCR Touring Car	Will Brown	Hyundai i30 N TCR	1:34.844[22]	19 May 2019
Group A*	John Bowe	Ford Sierra RS500	1:36.21	5 June 1992
Improved Production	Ray Hislop	Ford BF Falcon	1:40.7119	26 August 2012
Italian Challenge	Andrew Leithhead	Alfa Romeo GTV6	1:44.2082	24 June 2001
Commodore Cup	Tony Bates	Holden VS Commodore	1:44.8247	17 July 2011
Saloon Cars	Ben Grice	Holden VT Commodore	1:46.0023	5 July 2015
Group 3E	Bob Pearson	Mazda RX-7	1:46.4351	7 November 2004
Toyota 86 Racing Series	Zak Bates	Toyota 86	1:47.9579	30 October 2021
V8 Ute Racing Series	Grant Johnson	Holden VZ SS Ute	1:50.4062	26 November 2006
HQ Holden	Greg King	HQ Holden	1:58.4667	7 December 1997
Historic Touring Cars
Group A*	Carey McMahon	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R	1:37.8622	6 September 2015
Touring Car Masters	John Bowe	Holden Torana SL/R	1:38.8846	29 May 2021
Central Muscle Cars	Jason Richards	Chevrolet Camaro	1:41.5119	6 September 2009
Group C	Jason Richards	Holden LX Torana SS A9X Hatchback	1:43.0145	4 September 2011
Group Nc	Ross Donnelley	Ford Mustang	1:46.0209	28 November 2003
Group Nb	Bill Trengrove	Ford Mustang	1.50.5692	4 September 2011
Group Na	Craig Stephenson	Holden FJ	2:11.2755	22 June 2003
Motorcycles
Superbike	Wayne Maxwell	Yamaha YZF-R1M	1:29.772	10 September 2017
500cc Grand Prix	Àlex Crivillé	Honda NSR500	1:30.359	20 October 1996
250cc Grand Prix	Max Biaggi	Aprilia RSV 250	1:32.084	20 October 1996
Formula Xtreme	Kevin Curtain	Yamaha R1	1:32.657	4 October 2003
Supersport	Senna Agius	Honda CBR600RR	1:32.568	8 January 2022
125cc Grand Prix	Haruchika Aoki	Honda RS125R	1:36.272	20 October 1996
Sidecar	Steve Abbott/ Jamie Biggs	LCR-Suzuki GSX-R1000	1:37.420	1 May 2005

* John Bowe's time was set during the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship, when the ATCC was in its final year of Group A regulations. Carey McMahon's time was set during the 2015 Muscle Car Masters.

Notes

References

External links

• Official website
• Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info