The Lobethal Circuit was a motor racing course centred on the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

n town of

Lobethal Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centr ...

in the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

, 22 miles from the state capital,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

.John B Blanden, A History of the Australian Grand Prix 1928-1939, page 171 It was utilized for four race meetings from 1937 to 1948, hosting a number of major races including the 1939 Australian Grand Prix.Motorcycle Results, www.lobethalgrandcarnival.com.au via web.archive.org
Retrieved 7 June 2014
Retrieved 7 June 2014 Today the roads of the circuit make up a part of the

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI World ...

international bicycle race.

Layout

Roughly triangular in shape, the circuit comprised temporarily closed public roads which passed through the towns of Charleston and

. Two of the four approach roads to Lobethal were utilised as was the main road through Charleston, each of these having sealed surfaces. It is the longest circuit to have been used in Australian motor racing, and the average speed for the 1939 Australian Grand Prix was the fastest of any Australian Grand Prix prior to 1956, with race winner Tomlinson averaging 84.00 mph.

History

The circuit was first used for a combined motorcycle and car race meeting held 27 December 1937 through 3 January 1938. Similar meetings were held in 1938/39 and 1939/40, with the former featuring the 1939 Australian Grand Prix for cars. A fourth meeting, again a combined affair, was held on 1 January 1948. The 1948 meeting would be the last to be held at Lobethal, with attempts by the organizing group to re-establish racing at the circuit thwarted in 1951 by the introduction of

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

legislation prohibiting the use of public roads for racing.''Port Wakefield - First of the cookie cutters'', www.lagler.com.au
Retrieved 7 June 2014

Major races

The following table lists the feature motorcycle race and the feature car race at each of the four race meetings staged at the Lobethal Circuit.

References

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External links

Racing History Of Lobethal - 2008 Documentary, vimeo.com
Motorsport venues in South Australia Australian Grand Prix Motorsport at Lobethal