Oran Park Raceway

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Track map for Oran Park--Grand Prix circuit.svg.png
Oran Park Raceway
Location Narellan, New South Wales
Time UTC +10
Opened 1962
Events V8 Supercar
Australian Grand Prix
Superbike World Championship
Castrol 6 Hour
Length km 2.7
Length mi 1.69
Turns 12
Record time 1:01.6718
Record driver Tim Leahey
Record team Reynard 92D
Record year 2000
Record class Formula Holden


Oran Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit at Narellan in southwestern Sydney, Australia. Most of the circuit is visible from the main grandstand or the grassed banks surrounding the track.

Oran Park Raceway has several track layouts. It was established on 1 January 1963 with what was mostly like the current South Circuit. The first motorcycle race meeting was held on 17 February, with reigning Grand Prix Champion Jim Redman being the star attraction. Redman won nearly every class and set the lap record of 50.4 seconds, only 0.8 seconds slower than Frank Matich's outright time set in a 2.6 litre Lotus Sports Car.

The full track ("Grand Prix Circuit") was added in the early 1970s. It is a 2.7 kilometre figure-eight shape with a bridge where the track crosses itself. Despite the loop in the longest track shape, the circuit is regarded as racing anticlockwise.

Oran Park also has a motocross track, a skidpan, a dirt track and four wheel drive course and is used for advanced driver training.

Oran Park was used regularly for rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship, V8 Supercar Championship Series, Australian Drivers' Championship and Australian Sports Sedan Championship. The Australian Grand Prix was held at Oran Park in 1974 and 1977. In the 1970’s the circuit attracted large crowds for the popular Toby Lee Series, initially run for Series Production Touring Cars and later for Sports Sedans. The inaugural Rothmans 500 for Touring Cars was staged in 1977 but the 1978 event was to be the second and last running of this endurance race. Endurance touring car races would continue at Oran Park well into the 1980s and apart from the Sandown and Bathurst classics would last the longest before fading interest caused the compression of the endurance season to just those two events. The final such Oran Park enduro would by the 1989 Pepsi 300.

In 1988 and 1989, Oran Park played host to Australia's rounds of the Superbike World Championship.

Recently, the land on which the racetrack is on was sold to the Government of New South Wales for a new housing development. This will lead to the closure of the track during 2010 and will end 47 years of motorsport heritage at the facility.

Top Gear Australia visited the track numerous times during its second season when they reviewed cars such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and the Audi RS6.

Australian Touring Car Championship

Oran Park Raceway has hosted a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship every year since 1971. 2008 was the final year of Oran Park in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Allan Moffat and Mark Skaife are the most successful drivers at Oran Park in the ATCC, with six round wins each.

Lap Records

Current lap records for the Grand Prix circuit, italics indicate use of short circuit:

Class Driver Vehicle Time Date
Outright 22px-Flag of Australia.png Tim Leahey Reynard 92D Holden 1:01.6718 30/07/00
Racing Cars
Formula Holden 22px-Flag of Australia.png Tim Leahey Reynard 92D Holden 1:01.6718 30/07/00
Formula Three 22px-Flag of Australia.png Michael Caruso Dallara 301 Fiat 1:03.9747 13/07/03
Formula 5000 22px-Flag of Australia.png Warwick Brown Lola T332 1:05.2 17/11/74
Formula Ford 22px-Flag of New Zealand.png Steven Richards Van Diemen RF94 1:11.5614 24/07/94
Formula Vee 1200 22px-Flag of Australia.png Benjamin Porter Jacer 1:21.9271 19/07/03
Formula Vee 1600 22px-Flag of Australia.png Ryan Simpson Jacer F2k6 1:18.8632 19/06/06
Sports Cars
Nations Cup 22px-Flag of Australia.png Paul Stokell Lamborghini Diablo GT 1:08.6267 13/07/03
Carrera Cup 22px-Flag of Australia.png Alex Davison Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car 1:09.6224 13/08/03
GT Championship 22px-Flag of Australia.png Greg Crick Dodge Viper GTS ACR 1:11.2863 07/05/06
Invitation Sports Cars 22px-Flag of Australia.png Stan Adler Porsche 911 Coupe 1:15.6234 30/08/98
GT Performance 22px-Flag of Australia.png Bob Pearson Mazda RX-7 1:16.0830 13/07/03
Aussie Racing Cars 22px-Flag of Australia.png Nick Percat ARC Falcon-Yamaha 1:16.6124 12/08/06
MG-F Trophy 22px-Flag of Australia.png Warren Luff MG-F Trophy 1:23.5348 17/08/03
Touring Cars
V8 Supercar 22px-Flag of Australia.png Craig Lowndes Holden VT Commodore 1:08.0630 15/09/99
Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series 22px-Flag of Australia.png Dean Canto Ford EL Falcon 1:10.3812 16/06/00
Sports Sedan 22px-Flag of Australia.png Kerry Bailey Nissan 300ZX-Chevrolet 1:06.8983 28/07/01
Super Touring 22px-Flag of Australia.png Brad Jones Audi A4 Quattro 1:10.0464 30/08/98
Performance Cars 22px-Flag of Australia.png Chris Alajajian Subaru Impreza WRX STi 1:15.6008 13/08/05
Club Cars 22px-Flag of Australia.png Wayne Wakefield Mazda 808 Station Wagon 1:16.8968 30/08/98
Commodore Cup 22px-Flag of Australia.png Ashley Cooper Holden VS Commodore 1:18.2003 22/04/07
Saloon Cars 22px-Flag of Australia.png Kris Walton Ford AU Falcon 1:19.7760 28/10/06
Production Cars 22px-Flag of Australia.png Scott Loadsman Holden VX Commodore 1:20.3087 24/11/01
Mirage Series 22px-Flag of Australia.png Warren Luff Mitsubishi Mirage RS 1:20.7364 15/08/99
V8 Utes 22px-Flag of Australia.png Grant Johnson Holden VZ SS Ute 1:21.4087 07/05/06
HQ Holden 22px-Flag of Australia.png Vince Gatt HQ Holden 1:27.6977 15/08/99
Super Trucks 22px-Flag of New Zealand.png Ian 'Inky' Tulloch Freightliner Trucks 0:52.4607 24/03/02
Historic Touring Cars
Touring Car Masters 22px-Flag of Australia.png Brad Tilley Ford XY Falcon GT 1:18.0730 07/12/08
Group Nb 22px-Flag of Australia.png Cameron Tilley Chrysler Valiant S Series 1:21.6603 18/06/00
Motorcycles
Superbikes 22px-Flag of Australia.png Mat Mladin Kawasaki ZX-6R 1:10.2005 06/08/95
Formula Xtreme Motorcycles 22px-Flag of Australia.png Kevin Curtain Yamaha YZF1000R 1:10.8232 11/10/98


External links