Newcastle Motordrome
| Location | Old Punt Road, Tomago, New South Wales, Australia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°49′19″S 151°42′24″E / 32.82194°S 151.70667°ECoordinates: 32°49′19″S 151°42′24″E / 32.82194°S 151.70667°E |
| Capacity | 15,000 |
| Operator | Peter Gurbiel (1977-1983. 1984-1998) Barry Lewis (1983-1984) David Lander (1998-2002) |
| Broke ground | 1977 |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Closed | 14 July 2002 |
| Former names | Jerilderie Park Speedway Newcastle International Motordrome Winfield Newcastle Motordrome Wynn's Newcastle Motordrome |
| Major events |
Australian Sprintcar Championship Australian Speedcar Championship Australian Speedcar Grand Prix Australian Solo Championship Australian Sidecar championship World Series Sprintcars Australian Super Sedan Championship Australian Formula 500 Championship |
| Oval | |
| Surface | dolomite and clay mix Asphalt (early-mid-1980s only) |
| Length | 0.248 mi (0.400 km) |
Newcastle Motordrome was a Dirt track racing venue located on the Old Punt Road in Tomago, New South Wales, just north of the Hunter River and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the city of Newcastle. The ¼-mile speedway operated from its opening in 1977 until it was sold in 2002. The site of the Motordrome is now warehouses and light industrial factories.
Even though Motorcycle Speedway was started in the Hunter Region of NSW in Maitland in 1923, and motorcycle racing was held at the still operating Newcastle Showground racing as early as 1919, it wasn't until 1973 with the opening of Jerilderee Park Speedway, later to become the Newcastle Motordrome, that Newcastle had a dedicated speedway track that wasn't a showground although there was a short-lived 1/2 mile showground Speedway track at Hamilton in Newcastle as early as 1926 and Midget cars often made the trip from Sydney to Newcastle to race at a Speedway track on Union St.
The Motordrome was originally opened as Jerilderee Park Speedway and run and promoted by Peter Gurbiel, who also ran the Tralee Speedway in Australia's capital city Canberra, and quickly became the centre of speedway racing in country NSW with the track hosting many Australian Championships including the Australian Sprintcar Championship (1983), Australian Solo Championship (1989), Australian Speedcar Championship (1995/96), Australian Sidecar championship (1991), Australian Super Sedan Championship (1980/81, 1989/90 and 1995/96) as well as hosting the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix in 1999, various NSW State championships and rounds of the World Series Sprintcars.
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