Location | Annangrove, New South Wales |
---|---|
Time zone | GMT +10 |
Coordinates | 33°39′3″S 150°56′1″E / 33.65083°S 150.93361°ECoordinates: 33°39′3″S 150°56′1″E / 33.65083°S 150.93361°E |
Owner | Australian Racing Drivers Club |
Opened | 26 February 1967 |
Closed | 23 August 1998 |
Major events |
ATCC AMSCAR Series Sun-7 Chesterfield Series Castrol 6 Hour |
Length | 1.94 km (1.20 mi) |
Turns | 10 |
Lap record | 0:44.36 (John Bowe, Veskanda C1 Chevrolet, 1987, Group A Sports Cars) |
Amaroo Park was a 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) motor racing circuit located in Annangrove, New South Wales, in the present-day western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It was opened in 1967, hosting its first motorcycle meeting on 26 February with a 30 lap production race won by Larry Simons on a BSA Spitfire in heavy rain. The first dry meeting saw the lap record set by Jack Ahearn at 63.9 seconds. The road circuit served as a venue for a variety of competitions including the Castrol 6 Hour motorcycle race, rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship, Formula Ford, Formula 5000, Sports Sedans, the AMSCAR Series for touring cars, historic racing and others. The last Australian Touring Car Championship round to take place at the circuit was in 1994.
From around 1969, Amaroo Park was run and promoted by the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) who also promoted the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, and later were the promoters of Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway.
Amaroo Park held its own touring car series from 1971 to 1993, initially as the Sun-7 Chesterfield Series and then under various names, including the "AMSCAR Series" from 1982.
The complex had a hillclimb, a track, a little used speedway track and a short circuit track.
The circuit closed forever after the last meeting was held there on 23 August 1998. The meeting was billed as the "Goodbye Amaroo State open Meeting" with a mix of classes including Sports Sedans, HQ's and Group N Historic Touring Cars. The final race held at Amaroo Park was a "Butchers Picnic" which included the top 3 cars from the competing classes all in one final race. The race was run as a Butchers Picnic as a salute to the very first meetings at the circuit where the first races run were indeed Butchers' Picnics. The race, called "The Last Race, The Main Event, Amaroo's Final Fling" started at 4:30pm and was held over 10 laps. It was won by Sydney driver Ray Lintott driving a 4WD, twin-turbo Porsche 911 Turbo with a race time of 9:16.4942. The final driver, Andrew Papadopoulos driving an Alfa Romeo GTV, crossed the line at 4:40pm bringing the curtain down on one of Australia's most popular race circuits after over 31 years of continuous operation. The ARDC also let Arthur Hayes, their #1 member (meaning he was card holder #1) wave the chequered flag for the race.