While we wait for the decision of the FIA World Council over the question of team orders at the German Grand Prix, it is worth mentioning some activity in Melbourne, which may not have any direct effect on Formula 1, but could become significant at some point in the future. It has been revealed that the 250-acre Calder Park racing circuit is to be upgraded into an international standard complex. Th circuit has been owned since the 1970s by former racer and entrepreneur Bob Jane (81), but in recent years the facility has not held any racing. The V8 Supercars have not been to the circuit since 2001 and there has been no club racing in two years. The track has continued to host drag races, drifting events and corporate events.
Calder was used for dirt racing in the 1950s on land between the railway from Melbourne to Diggers Rest and the main road in the area, called the Calder Highway. The circuit was paved in 1961 and was 1.4 miles in length, with a long main straight and a return leg, featuring a number of corners. It was upgraded by Jane and between 1980 and 1984 hosted the Australian Grand Prix, for Formula Pacific and later Formula Mondial cars. His ambition in the late 1980s was to create an Australian version of NASCAR and he invested heavily in 1987 to add a 1.1-mile tri-oval with 24-degree banking, which was christened The Thunderdome. This was linked to the original circuit and hosted a number of curious road-oval races, including a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 1987 (which I attended). NASCAR did visit Calder in February 1988 and the event featured US stars such as Bobby Allison, Neil Bonnett, Michael Waltrip, Harry Gant, Morgan Shepherd and others. Jane then tried to develop a local equivalent, called AUSCAR which began in 1986 and survived until 2001. It was dominated by Bradley Jones, who won five titles. The introduction of the V8 Supercar series in 1997 meant that interest waned and the series faded away. Calder continued to be used for many different kinds of racing and for rock concerts, including Fleetwood Mac, Santana and Guns N’ Roses.
Jane is somewhat cagey about exactly what is now happening to Calder, but it seems that there is to be funding from the Victorian State Government which will enable Jane to extend the track significantly, create new landscaping, which will presumably give spectators a better view and create new seating. There do not seem to be any plans as yet to create proper trackside garages, but one would expect to see this as well. There is talk that part of the deal is the use of some of Calder’s land for upgraded railways and perhaps for a new road junction that seems to be required. According to some stories there might also be a railway station built to provide easy access to the circuit from the main Melbourne stations. Melbourne is fortunate in that it has a substantial electric railway network. Recent congestion on the roads has led to revived interest in railways in recent years and a new company called Metro Trains Melbourne took over the networks, which are owned by the Victorian government, promising to improve the services and to switch to Metro-style operation, providing more trains and new rolling stock. In corporating a redeveloped Calder into the network is relatively simple, if the money is available.
There are probably also plans for a driver training facility and the upgrading of the drag racing and provision for an off-road track in an effort to get the much-publicised “hoons” off the public highways and into safer environments. Jane says that more details will emerge as the Victorian State election (in November) approaches. The incumbent Australian Labor Party, led by state premier John Brumby is under attack from the Liberals. Labor has been in power since 1999 and has been a strong supporter on the Grand Prix in Albert Park, although there has been increasing talk in recent years of the idea of switching the race to a permanent facility because of the increasing costs involved in paying the fees needed to the Formula One group and erecting and dismantling the temporary facilities in Albert Park. The Formula One group would also like to see a night race in Melbourne, but this has been ruled out because of the costs of lighting. A permanent track would make this possible.
Jane says that any talk about F1 is jumping the gun.
“What we’re doing for the motorsport public and the general community is a very positive move for the future,” he told the Brimbank Leader newspaper. “As far as I am concerned, Albert Park is the best venue for the Grand Prix and I have no plans to have Formula 1 racing out here. I’m talking about re-doing our racetrack out here that will be to FIA standards and that can run all types of racing in the next 12 months.”
But, you never know…
Unfortunately Calder doesn’t need an upgrade, it needs completely replacing. It’s had so little work done in the last 10-15 years.
Bob Jane has promised a lot before and not come through or poorly done but there is a record of success as well. Plus bob will want to spend as little as possible.
I’ll believe it when I see it but I hope it happens.
Joe another great piece of work…there have been whispers for some time. though bob and cams dont get along at all last year andra (australian national drag racing association) had a event in melb called motorvate melbourne this was to show the state labor government that drag racers have a voice..
it was a great day thousands of people and plenty great cars… Now melb people want a decent drag racing venue. though we already have Sandown , philip island, Winton for circuit racing . hillclimbing is another matter all together. I can see a drag racing venue happening … in the near future .. with government money..Bobs very cagey he can smell a deal a mile away….
I, for one, hope that Albert Park never leaves the schedule. I really like that track and the F1 races it provides the viewer. The only problem I have currently with the Australian GP is the start time. I have to side with some of the drivers in that an evening race for the sake of European prime time TV viewership is a bit ridiculous, as it poses some safety risk to the drivers with the setting sun directly in their line of sight. I will say this, the past two F1 races, have provided some of the most exciting races, so maybe Bernie is on to something.
Complete tangent (but not totally off topic):
After many years of thinking about it but doing nothing, I finally made a pilgrimage to Watkins Glen. I supposed it helped that I was already vacationing in the area. But anyway…
If your memories of WG are from the 70s or 80s, you ought to give it another look. The Corning family and IMS appear to have put rather a lot of money and effort into the facility in the last decade.
It’s a huge place, beautifully sited on a hilltop overlooking the town. On the south end, the grandstands at the esses have a panoramic view of the valley and farmland south of Seneca lake. Most of the other grandstands have views of the rolling, wooded hills surrounding the track. It must be breathtaking in the fall when the leaves are changing (traditional WG F1 time…).
The track itself has quite a bit of elevation change, cars disappearing into little dales, then popping up on a hillside further out in the boot, vanishing behind some trees, then appearing again to dip down into and out of the bog…. Fun to watch, and probably a blast to drive.
As for the facilities… A rather small (but neat and functional) garage building, but a vast paddock area that could easily site a better pit complex if anyone cared to build one. Nice grandstands with good sitelines. Clean, modern restrooms with running hot and cold water (I checked). I didn’t see any champagne and caviar, but the Ferrari club folk seemed happy enough at their track day.
To be honest, I didn’t see all that much of a disparity between what WG offers and, say, Indy.
Now, while Seneca lake and the surrounding countryside were beautiful, the town of Watkins Glen itself is not as impressive as I’d hoped. (I did drive the old 1948-53 course — twice! — which was a blast. And the International Motorsport Research Center is a must-visit.) But nearby Corning is relatively upscale and accommodating to tourists, and the surrounding area is littered with boutique wineries, B&Bs, and cafes.
Anyway, not meaning to come off as a booster for western New York, but I was pleasantly surprised given some of the bellyaching one hears about American tracks. F1 could do a lot worse than WG.
Of course, the reality is that IMS has zero to gain from doing a deal with F1, and F1 has much better deal$ in the offing anyway, so a revived USGP at WG will remain a dream. But WG did just move to the top of my list of places to do a track day…
PS: sorry for the ridiculously long post.
Thanks Joe – and yes interesting news.
If only F1 could race on the Philip Island circuit – OR – Bathurst!
Joe,
I went out to Calder in October, 2009 for a drive day. Hadn’t been there since 1999 from memory.
My God, what a dump! Onlly way that place could be converted into a proper race track, would be with a fleet of CATERPILLAR D9s, and demolish the lot.
Had a look at the THUNDERDOME, and there were small shrubs growing up between the seats.
Could not wait to get out of the place.
Bernie would have a pink fit if he had to go there.
It would take major investment for that place to even resemble a F1 race track. Cannot see it happening.
Hmmmm, and pigs might fly…..
Bob Jane is a self made millionaire, with a fairly impressive motor racing CV (4 consecutive wins- 1961-64 in the Armstrong 500, at Phillip Island and latterly, Mt Panorama Bathurst, a long list of victories in Australian Touring Car Championships, and, Australian Sports Sedan Championships, ownership of both Calder and Adelaide International Raceways, bringing NASCAR to Australia, building the Thunderdome- shelling out $54million of his ownlate ’80s dollars, etc etc). It would be be difficult to name any other individual who has contributed more to Australian Motor Racing.
John Brumby (by some coincidence, “Brumby” is the term for a feral horse, in the Australian vernacular) heads up a Victorian State Government which is highly likely to be in Oppsosition post November 27th. Calder is located in Labor (not a spelling error, the “u” was taken out years ago) “heartland”, the working class North Western Suburbs of Melbourne. Also, “heartland” for drag racing, the local (Ford vs Holden) “V8 Supercars”. It is hardly the kind of territory that the Victorian “events” body would be seeking to present to the eyes of the world.
Calder Raceway in itself, (Wiki has a couple of circuit maps) is a dead flat, dead boring circuit, though, at least the whole track can be viewed from the grandstands. The only way it would be suitable for F1 would be to dig the whole lot up, and start again from scratch.
Conversely, Melbourne has two other facilities, Sandown Park (which, unfortunately, shares with a horse racing circuit) and Phillip Island (admittedly, outside the Metropolitan region, but which already holds a MotoGP round), both of which have far more interesting layouts, and are far closer to F1 standard.
In Australia, political pre election promises are viewed as slightly less reliable than the tooth fairy, and this would seem to be what is known out here as a “non-core promise” something which looks like a diamond before the election, and magically, resembles a turd afterwards.
I am unable to ascertain whther the electoral seats in the vicinity of Calder are at risk of swinging to the Liberal (amusing term for the “conservatives”) party, but I’d say that the whole deal is a big, fat, barrel of pork.
Intersetingly, calderpark.com.au, the circuit website, shows a reasonably busy schedule of drag races, and car club events, and, not one mention of a circuit upgrade, let alone the mooted showering of pre-election dollars.
Sorry, Joe, the chances of Calder hosting F1 would be slightly worse than the proverbial “snowflake in hell”
Cheers
Mark R
About time that Calder has an upgrade and use. It is only a little over 20km from the CBD and has a freeway running
past on one side and a train line on the other. There is more than enough land for track extensions and a massive amont of parking. Calders used to attract vrowds of 30 -40 thousand in the 70′s. Only problem with the starion idea is that the electric lines ends a few km short of calder.
I have noticed earthworks at the site, extending an existing spectator banking.
Melbourne has an class facility at Sandown it only runs a few meeting a year (it is also a horse racing facility), Winton and Phillip Island are 150 and 200km from Melbourne so there is nowhere for informal off street drag racing apart from Calder. There have been a couple of proposals for a racing facility on Melbourne’s outskirts and it seems that Bob Jane won the race for the Govenments money.
Bob jane is 81 and not in the best of health but his son
Rodney (not me) is an active racer and should Bob shuffle off the mortal coil the inheritance should be in good hands.
I write this without knowing what his will would be, of course.
MJG
If only F1 could race on the Philip Island circuit – OR – Bathurst
That will never happen. Too much involved in both circuits to make them suitable for F1. It would ruin Phillip Island for Bikes, which is where they get the biggest crowds for MOTOGP.
Bathurst ..Well, the F1 boys would go there, and just refuse to race. Runoff areas are not satisfactory, and now, the touring cars are faster there, than racing cars were in the early 70′s.
I was there in 1969 when Bevan Gibson took off down the straight. Of course, now, they have the Chase to slow even the touring cars down. They would have to put a couple of chicanes in down the Conrod straight ,as terminal sppeds would be too high .
If you try to imagine a grid full of F1 cars racing up Mountain Stringht and into the quarry corner ( what ever its called on race day , with that total lack of runoff..)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mount_Panorama_street_racing_circuit_in_Australia.svg
Nice to to think about, but, it would never happen.
Also, for both tracks, the accomodation infrastructure isn’t there to support all the teams for F1.
Mark, Calder isn’t dead flat. There’s an artificial hill in one section of the track. Absolutely pointless hill but it’s there none the less.
Also, while Bob Jane may have contributed a lot, he also caused a lot of trouble. His dealings with CAMS in the late 80s/early 90s were terrible. They weren’t helped at all by the way CAMS acted and both sides are equally to blame for anything that resulted but Bob instigated the problems every time.
Apparently, CAMS know nothing about this proposed upgrade and considering they are the FIA representatives in Australia, you’d think someone might have mentioned it to them.
Dear MJG
As I write this, I am in Bathurst, about 2km, as the crow flies, from the circuit.
Oh, that Mt Panorama would host an F1 race!!!
Again, highly unlikely-
Whilst some rate it as equal to Spa, as far as being a driver’s circuit is concerned, it would not lend itself to F!-
whilst the pit facilities are of a high standard, the actual circuit is narrow, numerous sections are in cuttings, with concrete walls as the only possible safety measures, the surface would require not only renewal, but also, (to ensure it’s viability, long term, ) being dug up, several feet below the surface, and rebuilt with a concrete foundation. It is currently pretty bumpy in places.
For the most part, the spectator facilities are earth banks.
And, it is 200km from the nearest major city- Sydney.
If the NSW events mob were to wrest the GP from Melbourne, with the assistance of the NSW State Govt, it would only be with the intent of a street race in Sydney.
Just as has occured with our local V8 Supercars- the final event of the season is a street race in the (former) Olympic Precinct.
It is probably the least challenging circuit in Australia- (google “Track Map- Sydney Telstra 500″ and you will see what I mean). Meanwhile, the NSW Govt owned, Eastern Creek (purpose built, permanent circuit), not more than 25km up the freeway, has not had A cent spent on upgrading it in 20 years.
Sorry to be a killjoy
Interesting piece Joe, seems more informed than the local media here.
But I don’t see the GP moving to Calder anytime in the next millennium.
Not going to happen.
Mark Ryan, Eastern Creek actually has had a few upgrades over the last 20 years. Yes, there haven’t been any changes but some areas have been resurfaced plus some other areas have been added (e.g. skid pan). Can they do more? Absolutely. But then, the track is booked out throughout the year with various events like driver training, car launches, tv ads, etc.
As for Homebush not being challenging, that’s not right. It’s very challenging, just a very boring shape. The stupidly tight chicane, camber change on the corner coming out of the bus stop (a literal one) and the bumps! For a track that was allegedly resurfaced for the race, it was a disgrace.
(Oh and let’s not mention Queensland Raceway and boring shapes)
Thanks MJG
Yes, QR- purpose designed race track, pity the designer was lobotomised beforehand.
As to Homebush- perhaps challenging for the wrong reasons, AND, exists for the wrong reasons- a “bread and circuses (circi?)” effort by a Government desperate to draw attention away from it’s mismanagement. As I recall, the minister involved with splashing out the money has since resigned.
Oh well.
MarkR
FYI Joe
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/calder-avalon-in-new-gp-plan/story-e6frf7kx-1225928088533