Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
 |
|
| Location | Phillip Island, Victoria |
|---|---|
| Time zone | GMT +10 |
| Coordinates | |
| Owner | Linfox |
| Opened | 31 March 1928 (Road circuit)[1] 15 December 1956 (modern circuit)[2] Re-opened: 7 April 1989 |
| Closed | 1940 (Road circuit)[1] 1978 (modern circuit) |
| Major events | Australian Grand Prix Australian motorcycle Grand Prix Superbike World Championship Australian Manufacturers' Championship Australian Touring Car Championship V8 Supercar Championship Series Australian Drivers' Championship |
| Modern | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 4.445 km (2.762 mi) |
| Turns | 12 |
| Lap record | 1:24.221 (Simon Wills, Reynard 94D Holden, 2000, Formula Holden) |
| Road (1928–1935) | |
| Surface | Gravel |
| Length | 10.6 km (6.5 mi) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Lap record | 4:49.4 (Bill Thompson, Bugatti Type 37A, 1932) |
| Road (1936–1940) | |
| Surface | Gravel |
| Length | 5.3 km (3.3 mi) |
| Turns | 4 |
The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing racing circuit on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The circuit was opened in 1956.
Contents |
History
Road circuit
Motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with the running of the 100 Miles Road Race, an event which has since become known as the first Australian Grand Prix. It utilised a high speed rectangle of local closed-off public roads with four similar right hand corners. The course length varied, with the car course approximately 6 miles per lap, compared to the motorcycle cicuit which was approximately 10 miles (16 km) in length. The circuit was the venue for the Australian Grand Prix through to 1935 and it was used for the last time on 6 May 1935 for the Jubilee Day Races.[3]
A triangular circuit utilising one leg of the original rectangular course was subsequently mapped out and used for racing [4] from 1936 to 1940.[5]
Grand Prix Circuit
In 1951, a group of six local businessmen decided to build a new track. About 2 km away from the original circuit, it still bears the corner name signs of the original circuit. As the piece of available land was on the edge of the coast, the track is known for its steep grades – the highest 57 metres – which caused cost overruns and delays in track opening. The new track was opened in 1956 [4] and in 1960 the first Armstrong 500 production car race was held at the circuit. Extensive damage resulted from the running of the 1962 Armstrong 500, and, with the circuit owners unable to finace repairs, the race was moved to the Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst in New South Wales.
The circuit reopened in October 1967 [4] and hosted the Phillip Island 500K endurance race, a round of the Australian Manufacturers' Championship, from 1971 to 1977. But again, due to its testing terrain, the circuit required much maintenance and slowly declined through the 1970s. It was farmed by its owners while closed and was then sold in 1985 in preparation for reopening, but did not do so until 1989 after agreement on a long term lease and rebuild agreement. The World Motorcycle Championship gave the circuit a grand re-opening in 1989 with a race long dice in the 500 cc division between Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, Christian Sarron and Kevin Magee. The race was won by Gardner to the delight of the huge crowd. It hosted its first World Superbike race in 1990. Mathew Close won the first race in 1990 by 11.31 sec. The Australian Touring Car Championship also returned in 1990 with Dick Johnson winning.
Current status
In 2006 and 2007, Phillip Island hosted the grand finale of the V8 Supercars Championship Series, as well as a regular MotoGP and Superbike round. From 2008 to 2011, Phillip Island hosted the L&H 500, replacing Sandown as the host track of V8 Supercar's 500 km race, before returning to Sandown in 2012.
A multi-million dollar re-development was undertaken in late 2006 by the Linfox Group, which now owns the track. The new facilities will also feature a karting circuit.
In the lead up to the 2012 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the circuit's third turn was officially named Stoner Corner, in honour of Australian MotoGP rider Casey Stoner, who had won the Grand Prix for five consecutive years from 2007 to 2011, and would retire following the 2012 MotoGP season. The choice of the third turn was made by Stoner himself, describing it as his favourite corner. He went on to win the 2012 event. [6]
Lap records
As of 24 February 2013:
| Class | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outright |  Simon Wills |
Reynard 94D Holden | 1:24.2215 | 13 February 2000 |
| Racing Cars | ||||
| Formula Holden | Simon Wills |
Reynard 94D Holden | 1:24.2215 | 13 February 2000 |
| Formula 3 |  Leanne Tander |
Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz | 1:26.9031 | 15 June 2008 |
| Formula 5000 | Chris Hyde |
McRae GM1 Chevrolet | 1:30.1205 | 9 March 2008 |
| Superkart | Russell Jamieson |
Anderson Maverick-DEA | 1:32.0676 | 7 November 2011 |
| Formula Ford | Mathew Hart |
Spectrum 014-Ford | 1:37.7119 | 19 May 2012 |
| Touring Cars | ||||
| V8 Supercar | Craig Lowndes |
Holden VE Commodore | 1:33.2700 | 19 May 2012 |
| Super Touring | Geoff Brabham |
BMW 320i | 1:37.1706 | 1 June 1997 |
| Group A | Mark Skaife |
Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R | 1:40.2312 | 10 March 2013 |
| Sports Cars | ||||
| GT Sports Cars |  Allan Simonsen |
Ferrari F430 GT3 | 1:33.6203 | 17 May 2009 |
| Marque Sports | Steve Owen |
Lamborghini Gallardo | 1:34.4309 | 21 November 2009 |
| Carrera Cup | Jonny Reid |
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | 1:33.6230 | 20 May 2012 |
| Aussie Racing Cars | Adrian Cottrell |
Aurion-Yamaha | 1:47.2815 | 18 May 2012 |
| Motorcycles | ||||
| MotoGP |  Nicky Hayden |
Honda RC212V | 1:30.059 | 5 October 2008 |
| 500cc Grand Prix | Kenny Roberts, Jr. |
Suzuki RGV500 | 1:32.743 | 1 October 1999 |
| 250cc Grand Prix |  Álvaro Bautista |
Aprilia RSV 250 | 1:32.710 | 5 October 2008 |
| 125cc Grand Prix | Alvaro Bautista |
Honda RS125R | 1:36.927 | 17 September 2006 |
| Moto2 | Pol Espargaró |
Kalex | 1:33.729 | 27 October 2012 |
| Moto3 |  Sandro Cortese |
KTM | 1:38.334 | 27 October 2012 |
| World Superbikes |  Eugene Laverty |
Aprilia RSV4 Factory | 1:31.168 | 24 February 2013 |
| World Supersports |  Kenan Sofuoğlu |
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R | 1:33.238 | 24 February 2013 |
| Production Superbike | Jason O'Halloran |
Honda CBR1000RR | 1:32.921 | 1 March 2008 |
| 600cc Supersport | Jamie Stauffer |
Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:35.822 | 1 March 2008 |
| Sidecar |  Steve Webster/ David James |
LCR-Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1:38.726 | 18 April 1999 |
References
- ^ a b Fast Tracks, p128
- ^ Fast Tracks, p130
- ^ John B Blanden, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, Volume 1, 1981, page 123
- ^ a b c Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, page 363
- ^ Phillip Island Club Triangle Circuit Retrieved from theracingline.net on 20 February 2011
- ^ http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/185429/1/turn_three_officially_named_stoner_corner.html/
Further reading
"The Official 50 Race History of the Australian Grand Prix"