Calder Raceway
| Calder | |
|---|---|
_track_map--Combined_road_and_Thunderdome_(oval)_course.svg) |
|
| Location | Calder Freeway, Keilor, Victoria 3036 |
| Time zone | GMT+10 |
| Coordinates | 37°40′18″S 144°45′21″E / 37.67167°S 144.75583°ECoordinates: 37°40′18″S 144°45′21″E / 37.67167°S 144.75583°E |
| Capacity | 44,000 (Thunderdome) |
| Owner | Rodney Jane |
| Operator | Australian Motorsport Club Limited |
| Opened | 14 January 1962 |
| Major events |
ATCC Australian NASCAR Championship Australian National Drag Championships Australian Grand Prix WTCC |
| Thunderdome | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.801 km (1.119 mi) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | Turns - 24° Front straight - 4° Back straight - 6° |
| Road Course | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.280 km (1.417 mi) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Lap record | 0:52.69 (John Bowe, Veskanda C1 Chevrolet, 1986, Australian Sports Car Championship) |
| Short Circuit | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.609 km (1.000 mi) |
| Turns | 6 |
| Lap record | 0:36.9 (Alan Jones, Williams FW07 Ford, 1980, Formula One) |
| Combined Circuit (road + oval) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 4.216 km (2.620 mi) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Banking |
Thunderdome Turns - 24° Front straight - 4° Back straight - 6° |
| Lap record | 1:45.03 (Andrew Miedecke, Ford Sierra RS500, 1987, World Touring Car Championship) |
Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, 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 counter-clockwise (for left-hand-drive cars such as NASCAR).
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. One of those men was Patrick Hawthorn, who at the time owned a petrol station in Clayton, when one of his clients suggested a place to race, on his property.
The inaugural meeting on a bitumen track was run by the Australian Motor Sports Club and took place on 14 January 1962. The track design was very similar to the existing Club Circuit, which is still in use today. Competitors at this meeting included current Calder Park owner Bob Jane (Autoland Jaguar 3.8 #84), Norm Beechey (Holden #40), John Wood (Holden #83) and Peter Manton (Mini Cooper).
In the early 1970s, champion racer and Melbourne tyre retailer Bob Jane purchased the track. The circuit not only hosted road racing but also drag racing while the infield formed part of the Rallycross track. The 1.609 km (1.000 mi) circuit was increased in length in 1986 to 2.280 km (1.417 mi), though the short circuit still remains. As part of the changes to the circuit, the main straight was lengthened from 700 metres to just under 1 km in length while the final turn (which was known for a long time as Gloweave Corner) was also moved forward approximately 75 metres so that the road course and the start of the drag racing strip were separate (this was due to long time complaints from drivers and bike riders that the start of the main straight was notoriously slippery due to it also being the start of the drag strip, especially in the wet). Lengthening the straight also gave the drag strip a longer runoff and slow down area. Jane also had the 1.801 km (1.119 mi) high banked NASCAR style Thunderdome built on the east side of the road circuit which opened in August 1987.
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Wikipedia