Old Race Tracks

[Ray Bell]

Double post, sorry...

[jellywrestler]

To the best of my knowledge it was Lobethal...

However, some of the Western Australian circuits, which were street courses around towns radiating out from Perth, might have been all-sealed as well. But only Albany predated the Lobethal 1938 race, and photos from there show gravel spraying up behind a car's wheel, so Lobethal remains - as far as I know - the first all-sealed circuit used in Australia.

Unless the circuit at Benalla was all-sealed. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't, at least one stretch of it is very unlikely to have been sealed. Lengthy stretches of Victor Harbor and almost all of Phillip Island were unsealed. The Wirlinga-Thurgoona circuit wasn't fully sealed either, its first meeting was either April or June, 1938 anyway.

So it was most likely Lobethal, first raced on January 1, 1938.

This is not counting Maroubra Speedway, of course, which was a concrete bowl, I am only referring to road racing circuits.

A better question might be, "Which Australian circuit was the last one that wasn't all-sealed?"

interesting, in nz Bryndwr was our first purpose built circuit, fully sealed, i'm curious as to what aussies first purpose built circuit fully sealed was, rather than a street circuit. nice to see people with similar interests out there

[Ray Bell]

The first fully-sealed purpose-built circuit not based on an airfield circuit was Altona, near Melbourne...

This was essentially the shallow dry area around a little lake called Cherry Lake and it as sealed for racing in 1953. But Mount Druitt had preceded this, with the proviso that it used an airstrip as its main straight, a year or to earlier. Of it's 2.2 or 2.4 miles, perhaps a mile as on the old airstrip, the rest was purpose-built and sealed for racing.

It wasn't long before a wet season saw this flooded and within three or four years it was beyond repair.

Phillip Island came in 1956, but there were plenty of fully-sealed airstrip circuits around which used the strip and taxiways or service roads to complete the circuit. Mooliabeenie and Caversham had the main strip and what was called a dispersal road joining one end to the other and going off into the bush. These were intended for use during the war to hide aircraft under the trees.

Nowra - 1946. Caversham - 1946. Lowood - 1948. Mooliabeenie - 1950.

[Roger Dowding]

Great information Ray Bell,

Have been given the " Australian Motor Racing Annual 1967 " which has a summary of the 1967 Tasman Cup Series - " In the Mirrors "
Covering from Pukekohe NZIGP through Levin Wigram Teretonga then the Australian part of the series at Lakeside Warwick Farm AGP Oran Park Sandown and Longford.
Not sure if the list is in order as the article is a bit hard to follow as not headlined for each track.
There are maps of Pukekohe [ without the loop ] Wigram Lakeside Sandown Park and Longford.

A few Lost tracks among the " Old Race Tracks "- that list Levin and Longford, among them.

[jellywrestler]

port wakefeild 1st jan 1953. all of our military airfeilds particularly had three strips in a triangle shape giving 6 different landing options 60degrees apart so none needed extra seal to run races and as you said service roads were used too

[Ray Bell]

I'm sorry, I forgot Port Wakefield, though in working on memory I would have said it was inaugurated in 1954, a year or so before the AGP there in 1955...

Are you in Australia?

Yes, in the main, airstrip circuits had a triangle to work with. But not Mt Druitt, nor Marsden Park, Strathpine, Lowood, Point Cook, Mooliabeenie, Ringwood, Tomago, Gawler, Beverley or Quorn Hall. So I guess it's not even 'in the main' when you count them up. Then you look at some, like Schofields and the main Caversham circuit, they had the triangle but didn't use it, racing in part on taxiways etc.

[jellywrestler]

I'm sorry, I forgot Port Wakefield, though in working on memory I would have said it was inaugurated in 1954, a year or so before the AGP there in 1955...

Are you in Australia?

Yes, in the main, airstrip circuits had a triangle to work with. But not Mt Druitt, nor Marsden Park, Strathpine, Lowood, Point Cook, Mooliabeenie, Ringwood, Tomago, Gawler, Beverley or Quorn Hall. So I guess it's not even 'in the main' when you count them up. Then you look at some, like Schofields and the main Caversham circuit, they had the triangle but didn't use it, racing in part on taxiways etc.

no i'm in nz, we had bryndwr opened in 1950 fully sealed, was trying o establish whther it was nz's or australasias first circuit.

[jellywrestler]

Milan,yes the Titirangi Motor Cycle Road race ,at least two of the older Bike racers from that day have told me about it ,one of them just recently

there's speculation this run twice, was scheduled a third time but the event was moved. the auckland motorcycle club history book mentions this (a second meeting) but no further details

[Allan]

There were motor bike races around the streets of Whakatane in the 1950s.

[jellywrestler]

There were motor bike races around the streets of Whakatane in the 1950s.

i have a 55 program which was the second and a 56 and 57, no circuit map which is something i'd be very interested to pinpoint , do you know where it was allan, also did it run after 1957? tried uploading piccies but the file size is too big and it's nearly midnights....

[Allan]

I don't know exactly but I think somewhere around the High School in Kopeopeo.

[jellywrestler]

This is a List - not complete, I am sure as know of a few others ;

" Street circuits
Cemetery Circuit, Wanganui (a.k.a. Southern Hemisphere's Isle of Man)
Dunedin Street Circuit, Dunedin (see also Southern Festival of Speed)
Paeroa Street Circuit, Paeroa (a.k.a. Battle of the Streets)
Port Nelson Street Circuit, Nelson

ii know of 56 street circuits where motorcycles raced in the north island, without closed circuits, haven't counted the south as yet.

[Roger Dowding]

ii know of 56 street circuits where motorcycles raced in the north island, without closed circuits, haven't counted the south as yet.

One I did forget Jw - the Onetangi Waiheke circuit used in the 1950's - would like to see the list.

There is a list of NZ Motor Racing Circuits that was created a while ago in Australia - Ken H, posted it on a thread here.

[jellywrestler]

the only time Waiheke Island was used in the 1950'si was on the first of january 1950 as the second part of a two day meeting. It was first raced on in 1931 through to early forties and then again after the war

[Roger Dowding]

the only time Waiheke Island was used in the 1950'si was on the first of january 1950 as the second part of a two day meeting. It was first raced on in 1931 through to early forties and then again after the war

Thanks Jw I was unsure - remembered it being talked about in my family when a youngster !

[jellywrestler]

the only time Waiheke Island was used in the 1950'si was on the first of january 1950 as the second part of a two day meeting. It was first raced on in 1931 through to early forties and then again after the war

the NZTT was run on Waiheke from 1931-50, then seagrove for one year then mangere then ardmore then pukekohe

[Milan Fistonic]

Brief report from the NZ Herald on the first TT race on Waiheke. June 3 1931 was a Wednesday, which I thought was a strange day to hold a race, but then I discovered that it was Kings Birthday and a holiday. Obviously not Mondayised like today.

[Oldfart]

mentioned by an old friend was the "Prosperity Grand Prix" on Waiheke after the depression. Does anyone have any info at all?

[Milan Fistonic]

mentioned by an old friend was the "Prosperity Grand Prix" on Waiheke after the depression. Does anyone have any info at all?

The only Prosperity Grand Prix I have heard about is the one held on a street circuit in Orakei on the 29th July 1933. It was won by Arthur Dexter in his Riley

[jellywrestler]

Brief report from the NZ Herald on the first TT race on Waiheke. June 3 1931 was a Wednesday, which I thought was a strange day to hold a race, but then I discovered that it was Kings Birthday and a holiday. Obviously not Mondayised like today.

it was interesting that in depression times they chose to do the 'first' road race on an island in the middle of winter, there were no dry runs on the mainland to speak of, and the fact that is was a wedensday meant travel was even harder. It must have worked as they continued aside from the war for two decades. what's also interesting is that it didn't spark more meetings, even just to practice at or get rankings, there were no north island 'road races' till post war and only cust in the south island.