The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near
Ventnor, on
Phillip Island
Phillip Island ( Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explore ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia. The current circuit was first used in 1956.
History
Road circuit
Motor racing on Phillip Island began in 1928 with the running of the
100 Miles Road Race, an event which has since become known as the first
Australian Grand Prix. It utilised a high speed rectangle of local closed-off public roads with four similar right hand corners. The course length varied, with the car course approximately per lap, compared to the motorcycle circuit which was approximately in length. The circuit was the venue for the Australian Grand Prix through to
1935 and it was used for the last time on 6 May 1935 for the Jubilee Day Races.
[John B Blanden, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, Volume 1, 1981, p. 123]
A new triangular circuit utilising the pit straight from the original rectangular course was subsequently mapped out and first used for the
Australian Race Drivers' Cup on 5 November 1935. The final car event on the circuit was held on
Cup Day (1 November) 1938 and the final motorcycle race meeting was conducted on 30 January 1940.
Significant events staged at the Phillip Island road circuit included:
*
1928 100 Miles Road Race
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Musi ...
*
1929 Australian Grand Prix
The 1929 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 18 March 1929.John Blanden, A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–1939, pages 25 to 42 The race, which was organised by the Victoria ...
*
1930 Australian Grand Prix
*
1931 Australian Grand Prix
*
1932 Australian Grand Prix
The 1932 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 14 March 1932.John Blanden, ''The 1932 Australian Grand Prix'', A History of Australian Grand Prix 1928–39, pages 75 to 90 It was the f ...
*
1933 Australian Grand Prix
*
1934 Phillip Island 100
*
1934 Australian Grand Prix
*
1934 Winter 100
*
1934 Victorian Centenary Grand Prix
*
1935 Centenary 300
*
1935 Australian Grand Prix
The 1935 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 1 April 1935.John Blanden, ''1935 Australian Grand Prix'', A History Of Australian Grand Prix 1928-1939, pages 115 to 126 The 200 mile ra ...
*
1935 Jubilee Handicap
*
1935 Winter 100
*
1935 Australian Race Drivers' Cup
*
1936 Victorian Sporting Car Club Trophy
*
1936 Australian Tourist Trophy The 1936 Australian Tourist Trophy was a motor race staged at the Phillip Island circuit in Victoria, Australia on 30 March 1936.''MGs First and Second in Australian TT Race'', Motor Sport, May 1936, page 63
The race was held over 60 laps of the ne ...
*
1937 Phillip Island Trophy
*
1938 Phillip Island Grand Prix
Grand Prix circuit
1956–1962
In 1951, a group of six local businessmen decided to build a new track. About away from the original circuit, it still bears the corner name signs of the original circuit. As the piece of available land was on the edge of the coast, the track is known for its steep grades – the highest 57 metres – which caused cost overruns and delays in track opening. The new track was opened in 1956
[Pedr Davis, The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, 1986, p. 363] and in 1960 the first
Armstrong 500 production car
Production vehicles or production cars are mass-produced identical models, offered for sale to the public, and able to be legally driven on public roads ( street legal). Legislation and other rules further define the production vehicle within part ...
race was held at the circuit. Extensive damage resulted from the running of the
1962 Armstrong 500, and, with the circuit owners unable to finance repairs, the circuit was closed and the race was moved to the
Mount Panorama Circuit at
Bathurst in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, to eventually become known as the
Bathurst 1000
The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most rece ...
.
1967–1978
The circuit reopened in October 1967
[ and hosted the ]Phillip Island 500
The Phillip Island 500 was an annual motor racing event, last held for Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The race had three distinct eras; from 1971 to 1977 as an endurance production and later Austra ...
endurance race, a round of the Australian Manufacturers' Championship
The Australian Manufacturers' Championship was a motor racing title awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) to the winning car manufacturer in an annual series of races held throughout Australia. Whilst the first two champi ...
, from 1971 to 1977. The race was also a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
in 1976 and 1977. But again, due to its testing terrain, the circuit required significant maintenance and slowly declined through the 1970s. It was farmed by its owners while closed and was then sold in 1985 in preparation for reopening, but did not do so until 1988 after agreement on a long-term lease and rebuild agreement. During the time the circuit deteriorated and finally closed, part of the main problem for its owners was that the Phillip Island Bridge from the island to the Australian mainland reportedly could not carry the heavy vehicles needed to resurface the circuit. This meant that the bitumen surface was a cold mix which easily broke up under the rigours of racing, instead of the standard hot mix which would have allowed a more durable surface. It would not be until the mid-1980s that the bridge would be rebuilt allowing the necessary equipment needed for resurfacing.
1988–present
The circuit was refurbished with a reduced length of and was reopened on 4 December 1988 for the final round of the 1988 Swann Insurance International Series for motorcycles.[Jim Scaysbrook, Phillip Island, A History of Motor Sport Since 1928, Bookworks Pty Ltd, 2005, pp. 161–163]
In 1989, the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix joined the FIM Road Racing World Championship calendar for the first time, and was held at Phillip Island. The 1989 race saw a race long dice in the 500 cc division between local favourites Wayne Gardner
Wayne Michael Gardner (born 11 October 1959) is an Australian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Aus ...
and Kevin Magee, along with Wayne Rainey
Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his s ...
and Christian Sarron. The race was won by 1987 World Champion Gardner to the delight of the huge crowd. Gardner would make it two in a row at the Island in 1990 before the race moved to Eastern Creek in Sydney for 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
. The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix would remain at Eastern Creek until it returned permanently to Phillip Island from 1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
onwards.
Phillip Island hosted its first Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
round in 1990, taking over from Sydney's Oran Park Raceway as the Australian round of the series. Local riders Peter Goddard (Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
FZR750) and Rob Phillis ( Kawasaki ZXR750) won the two races for what was Round 12 of the season, with Goddard having secured pole position. The World Superbike round continues to be held annually at Phillip Island to this day.
In 1990, the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) returned to the circuit for the first time since 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
, this time as a sprint round. Dick Johnson won the round in his Ford Sierra RS500
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
, in what was to be his final ever round victory. The event was not held in 1991 or 1992, but was reinstated to the calendar in 1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
, with the sprint format then continuing every year until 2004. By then, the ATCC was known as V8 Supercars
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
. After not appearing on the calendar in 2004, from 2005 to 2007, Phillip Island hosted the Grand Finale
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
; the final round of the V8 Supercars season. In each year, the event decided that year's champion, including in controversial circumstances in 2006. From 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
to 2011, Phillip Island returned to hosting a 500 km race, this time known for sponsorship reasons as the L&H 500. The Phillip Island 500 replaced Sandown
Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake in between. Together with Shanklin, Sandown forms a built-up area of ...
's Sandown 500
The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...
as the annual V8 Supercar 500 km race, an event which was later reinstated for 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
. Since then, Phillip Island has returned to hosting a sprint round of the championship, which has become known as the Phillip Island Super Sprint.
The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix has always been more of a promoter event than a profit-raiser in itself. The contract was prolonged until 2026, although tobacco advertising has been banned since 2007.
Important dates
* 1951: A historically significant meeting of six local businessmen decided to re-establish motor racing at Phillip Island.
* 1952: A steering committee formed and the Phillip Island Auto Racing Club (PIARC) developed with a dream "to build Australia's first international grand prix circuit".The current site was purchased in that year. PIARC calls for 7000 subscriptions at 10 pounds each to assist in the development of the circuit and building work begins. An Alfa was used to measure the three-mile distance required for international certification as an International Circuit.
* 1956: Between 1952 and 1956 the building of the circuit had met with major engineering hurdles and PIARC had to call for more money from its shareholders. The grand open meeting was held with much acclaim in December 1956.
* 1957: Phillip Island stages numerous trophy races including the Australian Motorsport Magazine Trophy Race 1957, the Formula Libre race of 1958 and the Phillip Island Trophy race of 1958.
* 1960: The inaugural Armstrong 500 endurance race is won by Frank Coad and John Roxburgh driving a Vauxhall Cresta
The Vauxhall Cresta is a British full-size car which was produced by Vauxhall from 1954 to 1972. The Cresta was introduced in 1954 as an upmarket version of the Vauxhall Velox, itself a six-cylinder version of the Vauxhall Wyvern. The Cresta m ...
. They completed the race in 8 hours 15 minutes.
* 1962: The circuit is damaged during the running of the 1962 Armstrong 500 and is subsequently closed to racing.
* 1964: Businessman and former Australian Drivers' Champion Len Lukey purchases the circuit with a view to redevelopment. Today, a corner on the circuit is named after Lukey.
* 1967: The circuit reopens with a newly laid surface at the "Grand Re-Opening Meeting" on 22 October 1967.
* 1971: The first Phillip Island 500K
The Phillip Island 500 was an annual motor racing event, last held for Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The race had three distinct eras; from 1971 to 1977 as an endurance production and later Austra ...
endurance race is held
* 1978: The circuit is closed, having become virtually unusable for modern racing and, between 1979 and 1982, it is used only for historic rallies and cub sprints.
* 1985: Phillip Island Circuit purchased by Placetac Pty Ltd, with the view to re-introducing racing to the famous facility.
* 1988: The circuit is refurbished with a reduced length of 4.449 kilometres and is reopened on 4 December 1988 for the final round of the 1988 Swann Insurance International Series for motorcycles.[
* 1989: The 1989 Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, the first World Championship round in Australia, is held at the circuit on 9 April.
* 1990: Phillip Island hosts its first round of the ]Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
. The circuit also hosts its first sprint round of the Australian Touring Car Championship
The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
.
* 1996: Australian superbike rider, Troy Corser
Troy Gordon Corser (born 27 November 1971) is an Australian former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Superbike World Championship from 1992 to 2011 except for the 1997 season when he competed in Grand Prix motorcycle raci ...
, wins the Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
on board a Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
at the October race at Phillip Island.
* 1997: The Australian motorcycle Grand Prix returns to Phillip Island, where it becomes a permanent fixture.
* 1998: Australian Michael Doohan
Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships.
Biography
Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended S ...
wins the motorcycle Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
. The first corner is named after him.
* 2000: Simon Wills
Simon Wills (born 3 October 1976 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former racing driver who currently runs a graphic design business.
Racing career Formula cars
Wills finished runner up in the 1995 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship. He had ...
sets a longstanding outright lap record of the circuit in the Formula Holden
Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.
History
Known during its development as Formula Australia, it was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a 3.8-litre Buick V6 engine a ...
category.
* 2004: The circuit and surrounding land is purchased by the Linfox
Linfox is an Australian transport and logistics and supply chain business founded in 1956 by Lindsay Fox.
History
Linfox was established in 1956 by Lindsay Fox as Lindsay Fox Cartage with one truck in Melbourne. In 1958, a contract with Schwep ...
corporation with a view to complement the circuit with facilities such as an 18-hole Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...
-designed golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
and a 5-star hotel.
* 2006: A multimillion-dollar re-development was undertaken in late 2006 by the Linfox Group, including the construction of a new karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
circuit.
* 2008: The Phillip Island 500
The Phillip Island 500 was an annual motor racing event, last held for Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The race had three distinct eras; from 1971 to 1977 as an endurance production and later Austra ...
is run for the first time since 1977, this time for V8 Supercars
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
. The race is held four times before once again becoming defunct.
* 2012: Australian Casey Stoner
Casey Joel Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in and . During his MotoGP career, Stoner raced for the factory teams of Ducati and Honda, winning a titl ...
wins his sixth consecutive Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, as well as his last career Grand Prix victory. Before the race, the third corner of the circuit is named after Stoner.
* 2014: Jamie Whincup
Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...
becomes the first ever driver to win a sixth ATCC/V8 Supercars title by winning the second Saturday race at the Plus Fitness Phillip Island 400.
Events
; Current
* February: Australian Superbike Championship
The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) is a national motorcycle racing championship in Australia, organized by Motorcycling Australia.
History
The story of the Australian Superbike Championship begins in 1980, at a time in motorcycle spor ...
* March: GT World Challenge Australia
The Australian GT Championship is a CAMS-sanctioned national title for drivers of GT cars, held annually from 1960 to 1963, from 1982 to 1985 and from 2005. Each championship up to and including the 1963 title was contested over a single race a ...
, S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship, TCR Australia Touring Car Series
The TCR Australia Touring Car Series is a touring car racing series based in Australia. The series is run as part of the Shannons Nationals series.
Background
The TCR Touring Car formula, introduced in 2014, is based on four or five door fron ...
, Trans Am Series Australia, Phillip Island Classic
* August: National Festival of Superkarts
* September: HSRCA Spring Festival
* October: MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
'' Australian motorcycle Grand Prix''
* November: Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing.
The championship was founded i ...
, Australian Superbike Championship
The Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) is a national motorcycle racing championship in Australia, organized by Motorcycling Australia.
History
The story of the Australian Superbike Championship begins in 1980, at a time in motorcycle spor ...
, Island Magic
; Former:
* Armstrong 500 (1960–1962)
* FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) he ...
(1991–1992)
* Sidecar World Championship
FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949.
It was formerly named Superside when the sidecars moved from being part of ...
(1999–2000)
* Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
''Phillip Island 500
The Phillip Island 500 was an annual motor racing event, last held for Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The race had three distinct eras; from 1971 to 1977 as an endurance production and later Austra ...
'' (2008–2011, 2017–2018)
* Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
''Phillip Island SuperSprint
The Phillip Island SuperSprint was an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The event was a semi-regular part of the Supercars Championship, and its previous incarnation ...
'' (1976–1977, 1990, 1993–2003, 2005–2007, 2009, 2012–2016, 2019)
Lap records
In the early 1990s, Phillip Island was used during the Australian summer for pre-season testing by various World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and No ...
teams and some Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
Formula 3000
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Formula 3000 championships
...
teams (who generally found travelling to Australia was actually cheaper than paying some $5,000 per hour to hire the Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
owned Suzuka Circuit
The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000.
Int ...
in Japan). While no official lap times were published, television commentator and race driver Neil Crompton
Neil Crompton (born 30 July 1960) is a well-known Supercars presenter and commentator.
Racing career Highlights
According to the official V8 Supercars website, Crompton has competed in 357 various motor racing events, finishing in the first ...
reported in 1990 that the Nissan Motorsports International team with drivers Julian Bailey and Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British racing driver who competed in Formula One for four seasons, sports cars, and CART. He won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the ...
driving the Nissan R90C The Nissan R90C was a platform used for Group C racing cars built in 1990 by Nissan Motors for competition in World Sportscar Championship (WSC) based in Europe and the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship (JSPC). The cars based on the basic R90 ...
were able to lap the circuit in around 1:18 while a 3.0 Litre Mugen V8 powered Dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
F3000 (which Crompton drove) was able record similar lap times. At the time the fastest Australian cars that raced at Phillip Island were the 3.8 Litre V6 powered Formula Holden
Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.
History
Known during its development as Formula Australia, it was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a 3.8-litre Buick V6 engine a ...
s which were approximately 10 seconds per lap slower.
In late October 2018 Mathew Radisich drove his 2011 ex-Conquest Racing
Conquest Racing is an auto racing team that competed in the IndyCar Series and the Atlantic Championship. Formerly it competed in the Champ Car World Series.
History
It is owned by former series competitor Éric Bachelart. The team ran in Indy Li ...
IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...
during testing at Phillip Island as a part of unofficial practice day, with images distributed online of his recorded Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
data showing a lap time of 1:17.005. However, as this time was not set during a race meeting, it does not count as an official lap record.
As of October 2022, the official race lap records at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit are listed as:
Notes
References
Further reading
"The Official 50 Race History of the Australian Grand Prix"
External links
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
{{V8 Supercar tracks
Superbike World Championship circuits
Motorsport venues in Victoria (Australia)
Grand Prix motorcycle circuits
Kart circuits
Supercars Championship circuits
Motorsport at Phillip Island
Sports venues in Victoria (Australia)
Australian Grand Prix