Sydney's famous Oran Park Raceway is closing

[mobil1_oils]

[b][center][size=10]Treasuring the years of thrills and spills[/size]
[size=5]Jaedene Hudson[/size]
17dec04
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Sydney's famous Oran Park Raceway is closing.
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Originally built as a club track in the early 1960s, Oran Park became popular in the '70s for touring car racing.

The track is nestled in the middle of land owned by two brothers from western Sydney, who recently sold it as part of a billion-dollar housing development deal.

Work is expected to start on the site in 2007 and more than 100,000 homes will be built.

Oran Park general manager Jeff Bowliss said he can guarantee next year's motor racing calendar will go ahead as planned, but could not confirm any plans beyond.

He said while the move sees the end of the circuit, it won't spell the end of the involvement of the Oran Park management in motorsport.

"We want to continue in motorsport," Bowliss says.

"We will be going somewhere else. There are many options but we don't know where or anything at this stage."

The track initially consisted only of the current south circuit, with the extended grand prix figure-8 layout built in the early '70s. Before the control tower was built in 1968 a double-decker bus was used for timing and commentary.

Oran Park has hosted the Australian Grand Prix, been the home of truck racing and was the venue for the final round of the Australian Touring Car Championship for many years.

It was also instrumental in the running of Sports Sedans racing in the '70s.

The track has been the scene of many memorable battles, including the duels of Allan Moffat and Bob Jane in the early '70s.

While Warwick Farm was famous for open wheelers, Oran Park will be most remembered for touring cars driven by some of Australia's motorsport legends, such as Moffat, Jane, Peter Brock, Colin Bond, Norm Beechey and Ian Geoghegan.

It is not only the racing drivers who will have to find a new home. With a 2.62km grand prix circuit, 1.94km south circuit, the skidpan, two dirt circuits, motocross track and go-kart circuit, Oran Park has been a popular choice for driver training.

Bowliss said he hoped those businesses would move with them.

"It will be a very sad day," he says. "Oran Park was really a great viewing track. It has a great history. It is famous for some really great battles ... Moffat and Jane in the early 1970s. It has always been a people's track, not an exclusive club."

Oran Park joins several Sydney tracks that have disappeared over time, including Amaroo Park, Catalina Park and Warwick Farm.

The first event in 2005 will be the Touring Car Festival on January 22 and 23, an "all touring car" historic race meeting with cars and drivers who competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1960-1992.

The V8 Supercars will race from August 12-14 and the trucks will be at the track in September. The year will be capped off by the Kids Race Day in December.


[url=\"http://carsguide.news.com.au/news/printpage/0,8297,11706632%255E21822,00.html\"]Source[/url]

[RuffRyders]

It sucks because it's an Australian track.