Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The complex includes a drag strip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clockwise (for right-hand-drive cars) or anti-clockwise (for left-hand-drive cars such as NASCAR). For the Transformers character see Drag Strip. A dragstrip is a facility for conducting Automobile and Motorcycle acceleration events such The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States.
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History
Calder Park Raceway was founded in the farming community of Diggers Rest and began as a dirt track carved into a paddock by a group of motoring enthusiasts who wanted somewhere to race their FJ Holdens.
The inaugural meeting on a bitumen track was run by the Australian Motor Sports Club and took place on January 14, 1962. Events 1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
The track design was very similar to the existing Club Circuit, which is still in use today.
Competitors at this meeting included Bob Jane (Autoland Jaguar 3. Robert "Bob" Jane (born 1929 is an Australian former Race car driver and prominent businessman 8 #84), Norm Beechey (Holden #40), John Wood (Holden #83) and Peter Manton (Mini Cooper S).
In the early 1970s, Bob Jane purchased the track.
The Thunderdome was added in the south side in 1987.
Thunderdome
The Thunderdome is a purpose-built 1. 8 km (1. 12 mile) speedway located on the grounds of Calder Park Raceway. An oval track is a dedicated motorsport circuit primarily in the USA, which differs from a road course in that it only has turns in one direction which is almost It was originally known as the Goodyear Thunderdome to reflect the naming rights sponsorship bought by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Naming rights are the right to name a piece of Property, either tangible property or an event usually granted in exchange for financial considerations The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling.
The track is a tri-oval shape, with a 24-degree banking on Turns 1 and 2. A Tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles a Triangle and an oval.
The Thunderdome was completed in 1987, but can trace its roots back over twenty years previously when Australian motorsport icon Bob Jane, owner of Calder Park Raceway, travelled to the United States and visited Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway numerous times to gauge stock car racing's rise in popularity. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Robert "Bob" Jane (born 1929 is an Australian former Race car driver and prominent businessman The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Lowe's Motor Speedway (formerly Charlotte Motor Speedway) is a speedway in Concord North Carolina, north of Charlotte. Daytona International Speedway is a Superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Stock car racing is a form of Automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain In 1981, Jane struck a deal with Bill France Jr. to bring NASCAR racing to Australia and plans were laid out for a tri-oval at the existing Calder Park Raceway. William Clifton France ( April 4 1933 - June 4 2007) nicknamed "Bill Jr The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States.
Ground first broke for the track in 1983 and took four years to complete. Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) It was built at a cost of $AU54 million - almost completely funded by Jane - and was opened by the Mayor of Keilor City Council on August 3, 1987. The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Keilor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is shared between two Local Government Areas: the City of Brimbank and Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar)
The first race on the Thunderdome was held just two weeks after its opening, although the track used incorporated both the Thunderdome and the pre-existing National Circuit. It was a 300-kilometre event for touring cars, with John Bowe and Terry Shiel in a Nissan Skyline taking first place - to date the only time a Japanese car has won a race held on the Thunderdome. John Bowe (born 16 April, 1954 in Devonport Tasmania) is an Australian Racing driver. Nissan Skyline GT-RThe Nissan Skyline is a Mid-size car originally produced by the Japanese automaker Prince Motor Company starting in 1957 and later by Nissan
The first race that used only the oval was on February 28, 1988, a nationally-televised NASCAR event which featured some of Australia's top touring car drivers as well as a slew of imports from the Winston Cup, including Bobby Allison (who had won the Daytona 500 that same month, giving the Thunderdome race a big publicity boost), Neil Bonnett, Michael Waltrip, Harry Gant, Morgan Shepherd, Dave Marcis, Rick Wilson and others. Events 202 BC - coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty 's rule Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937 in Hialeah Florida) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver and was named one of NASCAR's The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida. Lawrence Neil Bonnett ( July 30, 1946 - February 11, 1994) was a NASCAR driver who compiled 18 victories and 20 poles over Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963 in Owensboro Kentucky) is a professional race car driver and owner of Michael Waltrip Racing. Harry Phil Gant (born January 10, 1940 in Taylorsville North Carolina) is a retired American racecar driver best known for driving the number 33 Skoal Clay Morgan Shepherd (born October 21, 1941) has been a NASCAR Nextel Cup driver since 1977. Dave Marcis (born March 1, 1941) Wausau Wisconsin) was a driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup (now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Rick Wilson (born January 31, 1953 in Bartow Florida) is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver Bonnett won the race in a Pontiac Grand Prix. The Pontiac Grand Prix was an automobile that was produced by the Pontiac division of General Motors. This was the first time a NASCAR event had been staged outside North America and it proved so popular that many of the same drivers returned for another race at the Thunderdome that December, along with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American
The Thunderdome also played host to numerous AUSCAR events until that series ended in 2001. AUSCAR (Australian Stock Car Auto Racing was the Australian counterpart of the American motor racing series NASCAR, starting in 1986 and continuing until 2001 Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. AUSCAR was unique in that the cars were right hand drive - based on Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore chassis - and raced clockwise around the circuit. Right-hand traffic and left-hand traffic mean regulations requiring all traffic to keep either to the left or the right side of the Road. The Ford Falcon is a Full-size car which has been manufactured by Ford Australia since 1960 The Holden Commodore is an Automobile manufactured by the Holden division of General Motors (GM in Australia and formerly in New Zealand
Motorsport
Calder Park has hosted events involving Australian touring cars, historics, Super Tourers, Super Trucks and Super Bikes to rock concerts featuring world class artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Santana and Guns 'n' Roses.
A round of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship was held on the Calder Park Grand Prix circuit on 11 October 1987
Calder was also the first to host Superbike racing and Truck Racing; the trucks competing on both National and Thunderdome circuits in separate events. The 1987 World Touring Car Championship season was the 1st World Touring Car Championship season Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Superbike racing is a category of Motorcycle racing that employs modified production motorcycles Truck racing is a form of motor racing which involves modified versions of heavy trucks on racing circuits. The AUSCAR series was developed to race on the Thunderdome. AUSCAR (Australian Stock Car Auto Racing was the Australian counterpart of the American motor racing series NASCAR, starting in 1986 and continuing until 2001
The National Circuit's long front straight also features a drag strip, which was the home of the Australian National Drag Racing Championship for many years.
There are also Legal Off Street Drag Racing every Friday night unless weather is unsuitable for racing.
| “ | Calder Park will continue long into the future, with one of its main focuses being the provision of a quality, affordable racing circuit within close proximity of the Melbourne CBD, for all Victorian motoring clubs and their grass roots membership. | ” |
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—Bob Jane, (December 2004). [1] |
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The strip is still regarded the fastest all-bitumen drag strip in the world. Although owing to a long running animosity with the Drag Racing authority ANDRA it has been several years since national level drag racing has been seen at Calder Park to give credence to the claim.
More recently, Calder Park introduced drifting events to its impressive list of motorsport activities. The first ever Drift Nationals held in March 2004 attracted over 8,000 spectators and added another inaugural event to the long list of new activities nurtured by Calder Park Raceway.
Track information
- Thunderdome (Oval circuit): Length 1. 801 km / 1. 119 mi
- National Circuit: Length 2. 280 km / 1. 417 mi
- Club Circuit: Length 1. 609 km / 1. 000 mi
The first 100 metres of the Drag Strip was resurfaced in 2006 due to irregularities in the start line area, the strip reopened for the Legal Off Street Drag Racing event on Friday 17 November 2006. Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
References
- Calder Park Motorsport Official Website: http://www.calderpark.com.au
Trackpedia's guide to racing and driving Calder Park
External links
- Calder Park Raceway is at coordinates Coordinates:
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