Oran Park Raceway
| |
| Oran Park Raceway | |
|---|---|
| Location | Narellan, New South Wales |
| Time | UTC +10 |
| Opened | 1962 |
| Events | V8 Supercar Australian Grand Prix Superbike World Championship Castrol 6 Hour |
| Length km | 2.7 |
| Length mi | 1.69 |
| Turns | 12 |
| Record time | 1:01.6718 |
| Record driver | Tim Leahey |
| Record team | Reynard 92D |
| Record year | 2000 |
| Record class | Formula Holden |
Oran Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit at Narellan in southwestern Sydney, Australia. Most of the circuit is visible from the main grandstand or the grassed banks surrounding the track.
Oran Park Raceway has several track layouts. It was established on 1 January 1963 with what was mostly like the current South Circuit. The first motorcycle race meeting was held on 17 February, with reigning Grand Prix Champion Jim Redman being the star attraction. Redman won nearly every class and set the lap record of 50.4 seconds, only 0.8 seconds slower than Frank Matich's outright time set in a 2.6 litre Lotus Sports Car.
The full track ("Grand Prix Circuit") was added in the early 1970s. It is a 2.7 kilometre figure-eight shape with a bridge where the track crosses itself. Despite the loop in the longest track shape, the circuit is regarded as racing anticlockwise.
Oran Park also has a motocross track, a skidpan, a dirt track and four wheel drive course and is used for advanced driver training.
Oran Park was used regularly for rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship, V8 Supercar Championship Series, Australian Drivers' Championship and Australian Sports Sedan Championship. The Australian Grand Prix was held at Oran Park in 1974 and 1977. In the 1970’s the circuit attracted large crowds for the popular Toby Lee Series, initially run for Series Production Touring Cars and later for Sports Sedans. The inaugural Rothmans 500 for Touring Cars was staged in 1977 but the 1978 event was to be the second and last running of this endurance race. Endurance touring car races would continue at Oran Park well into the 1980s and apart from the Sandown and Bathurst classics would last the longest before fading interest caused the compression of the endurance season to just those two events. The final such Oran Park enduro would by the 1989 Pepsi 300.
In 1988 and 1989, Oran Park played host to Australia's rounds of the Superbike World Championship.
Recently, the land on which the racetrack is on was sold to the Government of New South Wales for a new housing development. This will lead to the closure of the track during 2010 and will end 47 years of motorsport heritage at the facility.
Top Gear Australia visited the track numerous times during its second season when they reviewed cars such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and the Audi RS6.
Australian Touring Car Championship
Oran Park Raceway has hosted a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship every year since 1971. 2008 was the final year of Oran Park in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Allan Moffat and Mark Skaife are the most successful drivers at Oran Park in the ATCC, with six round wins each.
Lap Records
Current lap records for the Grand Prix circuit, italics indicate use of short circuit:
| Class | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outright |  Tim Leahey
|
Reynard 92D Holden | 1:01.6718 | 30/07/00 |
| Racing Cars | ||||
| Formula Holden | Tim Leahey
|
Reynard 92D Holden | 1:01.6718 | 30/07/00 |
| Formula Three | Michael Caruso
|
Dallara 301 Fiat | 1:03.9747 | 13/07/03 |
| Formula 5000 | Warwick Brown
|
Lola T332 | 1:05.2 | 17/11/74 |
| Formula Ford |  Steven Richards
|
Van Diemen RF94 | 1:11.5614 | 24/07/94 |
| Formula Vee 1200 | Benjamin Porter
|
Jacer | 1:21.9271 | 19/07/03 |
| Formula Vee 1600 | Ryan Simpson
|
Jacer F2k6 | 1:18.8632 | 19/06/06 |
| Sports Cars | ||||
| Nations Cup | Paul Stokell
|
Lamborghini Diablo GT | 1:08.6267 | 13/07/03 |
| Carrera Cup | Alex Davison
|
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 1:09.6224 | 13/08/03 |
| GT Championship | Greg Crick
|
Dodge Viper GTS ACR | 1:11.2863 | 07/05/06 |
| Invitation Sports Cars | Stan Adler
|
Porsche 911 Coupe | 1:15.6234 | 30/08/98 |
| GT Performance | Bob Pearson
|
Mazda RX-7 | 1:16.0830 | 13/07/03 |
| Aussie Racing Cars | Nick Percat
|
ARC Falcon-Yamaha | 1:16.6124 | 12/08/06 |
| MG-F Trophy | Warren Luff
|
MG-F Trophy | 1:23.5348 | 17/08/03 |
| Touring Cars | ||||
| V8 Supercar | Craig Lowndes
|
Holden VT Commodore | 1:08.0630 | 15/09/99 |
| Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series | Dean Canto
|
Ford EL Falcon | 1:10.3812 | 16/06/00 |
| Sports Sedan | Kerry Bailey
|
Nissan 300ZX-Chevrolet | 1:06.8983 | 28/07/01 |
| Super Touring | Brad Jones
|
Audi A4 Quattro | 1:10.0464 | 30/08/98 |
| Performance Cars | Chris Alajajian
|
Subaru Impreza WRX STi | 1:15.6008 | 13/08/05 |
| Club Cars | Wayne Wakefield
|
Mazda 808 Station Wagon | 1:16.8968 | 30/08/98 |
| Commodore Cup | Ashley Cooper
|
Holden VS Commodore | 1:18.2003 | 22/04/07 |
| Saloon Cars | Kris Walton
|
Ford AU Falcon | 1:19.7760 | 28/10/06 |
| Production Cars | Scott Loadsman
|
Holden VX Commodore | 1:20.3087 | 24/11/01 |
| Mirage Series | Warren Luff
|
Mitsubishi Mirage RS | 1:20.7364 | 15/08/99 |
| V8 Utes | Grant Johnson
|
Holden VZ SS Ute | 1:21.4087 | 07/05/06 |
| HQ Holden | Vince Gatt
|
HQ Holden | 1:27.6977 | 15/08/99 |
| Super Trucks | Ian 'Inky' Tulloch
|
Freightliner Trucks | 0:52.4607 | 24/03/02 |
| Historic Touring Cars | ||||
| Touring Car Masters | Brad Tilley
|
Ford XY Falcon GT | 1:18.0730 | 07/12/08 |
| Group Nb | Cameron Tilley
|
Chrysler Valiant S Series | 1:21.6603 | 18/06/00 |
| Motorcycles | ||||
| Superbikes | Mat Mladin
|
Kawasaki ZX-6R | 1:10.2005 | 06/08/95 |
| Formula Xtreme Motorcycles | Kevin Curtain
|
Yamaha YZF1000R | 1:10.8232 | 11/10/98 |
External links
- oranpark.com.au Official website
- V8 Supercar's info of Oran Park Raceway
- Oran Park Track Days
- Oran Park Hot Laps