Liverpool Speedway
| The Place of Pace | |
|---|---|
| Location | Cnr of South Liverpool and Wilson Roads, Green Valley, New South Wales |
| Coordinates | 33°54′25″S 150°52′2″E / 33.90694°S 150.86722°ECoordinates: 33°54′25″S 150°52′2″E / 33.90694°S 150.86722°E |
| Capacity | 25,000 |
| Operator | Mike Raymond and Frank Oliveri |
| Opened | 1967 |
| Closed | 1989 |
| Former names | Liverpool Speedway (1967-1974) Liverpool International Speedway (1974-1980) Liverpool City Raceway (1980-1989) |
| Major events |
Australian Speedcar Championship Australian Solo Championship Australian Speedway Sidecar Championship Australian Solo Masters 100 Lap Marlboro Grand National 1982 Speedway World Pairs Championship Australian Speedcar Grand Prix Australasian Solo Final |
| Speedway | |
| Surface | Dolomite and clay mix (1967-1974) Asphalt (1974-1984) Clay (1984-1989) |
| Length | 0.273 mi (0.440 km) |
| Motorcycle Oval | |
| Surface | Dolomite, Crushed Granite |
| Length | 0.174 mi (0.280 km) |
Liverpool Speedway (also known during its life as Liverpool International Speedway and Liverpool City Raceway) was located in Green Valley, Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool was officially opened by Frank Oliveri and the Oliveri Family, alongside Ald. E. Smith, the mayor of Liverpool at the time, and ran until its sudden and unexpected closure in 1989. Frank Oliveri would later share track management with track announcer and promoter, Channel 7 television sports presenter Mike Raymond.
Liverpool Speedway was officially opened by the Oliveri Family on 14 May 1967. The 440-metre (480 yd) track was D-shaped and was a clay-and-dolomite mix. On the program that first night were Speedcars, TQ's, super modifieds, stock cars and production sedans.
Liverpool was managed and promoted by Channel 7 television sports presenter Mike Raymond and former Liverpool Mayor Frank Oliveri. The speedway was promoted heavily on television and radio and everyone in Sydney with access to television saw the commercials with Raymond's famous words, "7.45 This Saturday Night At The Liverpool City Raceway, so BE THERE". With television personality Raymond in charge, Liverpool was arguably the best-promoted speedway in Australia during the mid-1970s and through the 1980s.
During the winter of 1974, the management of the speedway announced that the track surface was being changed from clay and dolomite to asphalt. At this time the venue had its first name change when it became known as the "Liverpool International Speedway". Also announced at the time were extensive renovations including a fully enclosed grandstand with a glass-enclosed restaurant, a VIP lounge and a 3-storey control tower, all aimed at increasing the track's spectator capacity to around 35,000. The track was paved in time for the 1974/75 season, but the other proposed works never got off the ground.
Liverpool Speedway's biggest annual event was the Marlboro Grand National 100 Lap race which was first run in 1971 and won by local driver Rick Hunter. First run for sedans, the race became the home of specialist pavement racing cars which eventually became known as Grand National's. This event attracted drivers from all around Australia and the United States making it the most prestigious sedan based speedway event ever hosted in Australia at the time other than the annual National Championships and crowds of up to 25,000 people would attend this event. Grand National Sedans were a new breed of cars developed especially for Liverpool Raceway, though some were easily adapted for the many dirt track speedways around Australia. They were a tube spaceframe chassis with a fuel injected small block V8 engine, similar to a Sprintcar engine and although designed primarily for racing on Liverpool's paved oval the cars competed on dirt or clay around the country including at the Newcastle Motordrome north of Sydney, Parramatta City Raceway in western Sydney, Rowley Park and later Speedway Park in Adelaide, Claremont Speedway in Perth, Premier Speedway in Warrnambool, and Archerfield Speedway in Brisbane.
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