Surfers Paradise International Raceway was a motor racing complex at
Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. The long circuit was designed and built by
Keith Williams, a motor racing enthusiast who also designed and built the
Adelaide International Raceway (AIR) in
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 ...
in 1972. It was located opposite the
Surfers Paradise Ski Gardens at
Carrara.
The circuit
Surfers Paradise Raceway included a
dragstrip along the main straight (a design later incorporated into the Williams owned Adelaide International Raceway), with a very fast right-hander under the
Dunlop Bridge leading to a tight corner that turned the track back to a medium-length straight. Then a fast left hander before rushing into a series of rights and lefts that skirted the only hill on the property (commonly known as Repco Hill). A slow right called that opened up brought the track back to the main straight.
The right hand turn under the Dunlop Bridge was widely considered the fastest and most daunting corner in Australian motorsport until the building of the Chase chicane at the
Mount Panorama Circuit
Mount Panorama Circuit is a motor racing track located in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated on Mount Panorama (Wahluu) and is best known as the home of the Bathurst 1000 motor race held each October, and the Bathurst 12 Hour ...
in 1987, with many top drivers including
Allan Moffat,
John Harvey John Harvey may refer to:
People Academics
* John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician
* John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...
and
Tony Edmonson all having crashed there over the years.
Within the circuit lay an airstrip and quarter-mile
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
similar to the one that used to sit within the lower part of the
Amaroo Park circuit in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
.
Drag racing
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most c ...
commenced at
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
in 1966, with the June meet, the Winternationals, beginning in 1968. The Winternationals became the largest drag racing meet outside the United States.
Keith Williams sold the raceway in 1984, and the circuit closed at the end of 1987 after 21 years of operation, with the final meeting held on the 27th of August.
At the end of its life, the outright lap record of 1:04.3 was set in 1986 and was held by
John Bowe driving the
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
powered
Veskanda C1
The Veskanda C1 (more commonly known as just "Veskanda") is a one-off, Australian designed and built, mid-engined closed top racing car built in 1985 to CAMS Group A Sports Car specifications. Powered by a Chevrolet V8 engine, the car is general ...
Group A/
Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
.
The Winternationals moved to
Willowbank Raceway in 1988, where the race continues to this day. After years of neglect, it was finally destroyed in 2003. The site has since been redeveloped as Emerald Lakes canal estate.
Major races
Tasman Series
With
Lakeside
Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to:
Places Australia
* Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria
* Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia
* Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria
* Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Quee ...
well established as a Queensland's round of the
Tasman Series it was not until
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
that the series visited Surfers Paradise. As typified the 1968 series
Jim Clark
James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...
(
Lotus
Lotus may refer to:
Plants
*Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly:
** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae
**Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
Ford) and
Chris Amon (
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
) filled the top two positions with Clark's teammate
Graham Hill
Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...
completing the podium. Formula 5000 Tasman Series rounds were also held at the circuit each year from 1970 to 1975.
Australian Grand Prix
The Australian Grand Prix visited just once, in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
. In torrential rain
Max Stewart took his
Lola T400
After the great success of the T332 in the 1974 Formula 5000 season (18 out of 21 top 3 finishes in the US), much was expected of the new high-tech Lola T400. Described by development driver Frank Gardner as "the most sophisticated Formula 5000 ...
Formula 5000 to victory from
John Leffler
John Leffler (May 27, 1940 - June 11, 2021) was a former Australian racing driver. Leffler is best known for driving open-wheelers and winning the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1976.
Leffler drove Morris Coopers for many years in the ...
, who was second on a day when the F5000's were badly out-handled by
Ray Winter
Ray Ricardo Wynter (born 27 November 1955) is a former Jamaican cricketer who played first-class and one-day cricket for Jamaica from 1975 until 1982. A right-handed batsman and right-arm opening bowler, he played 30 matches in all in those f ...
driving his
AF2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
Mildren Mono The Mildren name was used on a series of racing vehicles constructed for, or acquired by, Australian racing team owner Alec Mildren during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Mildren Maserati
The Mildren Maserati was a one-off sports car which was built i ...
Ford.
Rothmans International Series
With the demise of the Tasman Series after 1976, the void was filled with the Rothmans International Series from 1976 to 1979. The first race scheduled for Surfers Paradise on 29 February
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
was cancelled.
Australian Touring Car Championship
The circuit hosted rounds of the
Australian Touring Car Championship in 1969, 1971–72, 1974–77 and from 1979 until the circuits closure in 1987.
''* The 1976 and 1977 ATCC rounds at Surfers were the Rothmans 300 endurance races''
Endurance races
Numerous endurance races were staged at the circuit, most notably the Rothmans 12 Hour events.
National championship rounds
Rounds of various Australian motor racing championship were held at the circuit. Winners of the Surfers Paradise round of a selection of these championships is shown below.
Australian Drivers' Championship
Australian Sports Car Championship
Australian Sports Sedan Championship
Australian GT Championship
See also
*
Sports on the Gold Coast, Queensland
Sport on the Gold Coast has a rich history. As a popular tourist destination leisure sports like Golf, but most particularly sports associated with its famous beaches, have always been popular. A number of surf clubs line Gold Coasts beaches, w ...
*
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit
References
{{Australian GT circuits
Former Supercars Championship circuits
Motorsport at Surfers Paradise International Raceway
Sports venues on the Gold Coast, Queensland
Defunct motorsport venues in Australia
Australian Grand Prix
Carrara, Queensland
Motorsport venues in Queensland