| Location | Melbourne, Victoria |
|---|---|
| Owner | Melbourne Racing Club |
| Opened | 11 March 1962 |
| Major events | V8 Supercars Australian Grand Prix Tasman Series World Sportscar Championship Historic Sandown |
| International Circuit | |
| Length | 3.104 km (1.928 mi) |
| Turns | 13 |
| Lap record | 1:08.33[1] (Roger Williams, McRae GM1 Chevrolet, 2003, Formula 5000) |
| International Circuit (1984–1988) | |
| Length | 3.878 km (1.928 mi) |
| Turns | 17 |
| Lap record | 1:33.580 (Jean-Louis Schlesser, Sauber C9 Mercedes-Benz, 1988, World Sportscar Championship) |
| Original Circuit (1962–1984) | |
| Length | 3.100 km (1.926 mi) |
| Turns | 8 |
| Lap record | 1:00.60 (Alfredo Costanzo, McLaren M26 Chevrolet, 1981, Formula 5000) |
Sandown International Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) south east of the city centre. It is considered a power circuit with its front straight being 899m long and back straight 910m long.
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Sandown Racecourse was first built as a horse racing facility, dating back into the 19th century, but closed in the 1930s in a government run rationalisation program. Redevelopment began not long after World War II. A bitumen motor racing circuit was built around the outside of the proposed horse track (which was not completed until 1965) and was first opened in 1962 and held the race which became the Sandown 500 for the first time in 1964.
When Sandown first opened in 1962 it held the Sandown International Cup, which featured world-famous drivers such as Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren. Throughout the 1960s and 70s the race meetings continued to attract international stars along with the best of Australia's drivers.
Australia's traditional Holden/Ford rivalry really surfaced at the track in the late 1960s and through the 1970s and continues to the present day. From 1968 to 1980 almost every major touring car race held at the circuit was won be those driving either a Holden or a Ford.
1984 saw the first appearance of Group A touring cars and an extension of the track to 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) to comply with FIA regulations for minimum track length for World Championship events. It also saw the first 500 km race held at the circuit. Named the Castrol 500, it was Round 3 of the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship and along with the circuit changes some $600,000 had been spent relocating the pits from its original place between turns two and three to its now permanent place coming onto the main straight. Peter Brock and Larry Perkins took their Holden Dealer Team Commodore to a one lap victory. It was the last of Brock's record nine wins in the Sandown Enduro. In 1989 the 3.9km International Circuit was abandoned and the track reverted back to 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi), though not by using the original 8 turn layout but a modified 13 turn course. This was achieved by simply bypassing the largely unpopular tight and twisty infield section that had been in use since 1984 and using only the re-configured International (outer) Circuit.
The 1990, 1993 and 1994 events had no major sponsor and were underwritten by circuit promoter and former Formula 5000 star Jon Davison.
On 2 December 1984, Sandown held the last round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship. The race, known as the 1984 Sandown 1000, was won by Stefan Bellof and Derek Bell in their Rothmans Porsche 956. This race was the first FIA World Championship motor racing event to be held in Australia.
The next (and only other) FIA World Sportscar Championship race held in Australia was also held at Sandown on 20 November 1988. This was the 1988 360km of Sandown Park, the final round of the 1988 World Sports-Protype Championship, which was won by Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jochen Mass driving their Sauber Mercedes C9.
The circuit was also the home to the famous Sandown Endurance race which was first held in 1964 and to date was last held in 2007. Traditionally the domain of touring cars, the race has also been held for Series Production cars from 1968–1972 and GT Sports Cars in 2001 and 2002. Peter Brock is the most successful driver of the Sandown Enduro with nine outright wins including seven in a row from 1975 to 1981. The race itself wasn't always run over a 500 km distance. The first two races ran for six hours while the next two ran for just three. Race distance was 250 km from 1970 until 1975. This was increased to 400 km in 1976 and stayed that way until 1983. It was changed for the last time in 1984 with an increase to 500 km.
With the creation of the V8 Supercars series, they included the Sandown 500 event as part of their calendar until 1998. The race was then held as a sprint round until 2000, then as three 150 km races with pit stops in 2001 and 2002. The event was won by Todd Kelly in 2001 and by Marcos Ambrose in 2002. They returned to the 500 km format in 2003 with a sponsorship deal with Betta Electrical and have been a large part of the series since. The 2003 event was won by Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly for the Holden Racing Team. In 2004 it was won by Marcos Ambrose and Greg Ritter in a Pirtek-backed Stone Brothers Racing Falcon. In 2005, it was won by Craig Lowndes and Frenchman Yvan Muller in a Betta Electrical backed Falcon. In 2006, Ford Performance Racing got its maiden endurance victory with Mark Winterbottom and Jason Bright. In 2007, the major sponsor of the Sandown 500 is Just-Car Insurance and the event is called the Just Car Insurance 500, and was won by Craig Lowndes, his fourth victory, and Jamie Whincup.
For the 2008 season, the 500 kilometre endurance race has been moved to the Phillip Island. Sandown remains on the calendar, but will host a regular sprint race format. The 2008 event from 7 to 9 June was known as the Midas 400.
Easternats was a car festival held at the race track annually. It attracted a large number of entrants for the show'n'shine and various other events. It comprised usually a turn out of 750 entered vehicles. This event has since been discontinued.
Historic Sandown is an annual event held at the circuit on the first weekend of November. Promoted by the VHRR (Victorian Historic Racing Register) and run by the MG Car Club of Victoria, it is a highly successful event which in 2009 attracted a record 400+ historic racing cars including touring cars, MG racers and Formula Fords and was also headlined by the Biante Touring Car Masters. 2009 was the 18th running of the event and was attended by the patron of the VHRR, Sir Jack Brabham.
Twice annually Athletics Victoria hold a road race as a part of the AV Cross Country season.
Sandown Raceway has held the Australian Grand Prix on six occasions, the last being in 1978, seven years before the event became part of the FIA Formula One World Championship in 1985. Two World Drivers' Champions were winners of the AGP at Sandown, Jack Brabham in 1964 and the late Jim Clark in 1968.
The winners (and year) of the AGP held at Sandown Raceway are:
As of September 2011.[2] Unless otherwise stated records are for the current circuit.
| Class | Driver | Vehicle | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outright (Original Circuit - 1962-84 - 3.1km) | ||||
| Formula 5000 | Alfredo Costanzo | McLaren M26 Chevrolet | 1:00.6 | 22 February 1981 |
| Outright (International Circuit - 1984-88 - 3.9km) | ||||
| Group C Sportscar | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Sauber C9 Mercedes-Benz | 1:33.580 | 20 November 1988 |
| Outright (Current - 3.1km) | ||||
| Outright | Roger Williams | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | 1:08.33 | 9 November 2003 |
| Racing Cars | ||||
| Historic Formula 5000 | Roger Williams | McRae GM1 Chevrolet | 1:08.33 | 9 November 2003 |
| Formula Holden | Simon Wills | Reynard 94D Holden | 1:08.35 | 24 June 1999 |
| Formula 3 | James Winslow | Dallara F307 Mercedes-Benz | 1:08.8893 | 10 September 2011 |
| Formula 2 | Barry Ward | Reynard | 1:14.47 | 19 May 1991 |
| Formula Ford | Chaz Mostert | Spectrum 011B Ford Duratec | 1:14.62 | 2 August 2009 |
| Formula Ford 1600 | Luke Ellery | Spectrum 010 Kent engine | 1:18.39 | 23 May 2010 |
| Formula Vee 1192 | Jason Kerr | Sabre 01 | 1:31.33 | 31 July 2004 |
| Formula Vee 1600 | Ben Porter | Checkmate JP02 | 1:26.92 | 25 July 2010 |
| Superkart | Scott Ellis | Anderson Maverick-Safe | 1:19.69 | 1 November 2005 |
| Sports Cars | ||||
| GT | Max Twigg | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup S | 1:12.05 | 22 May 2010 |
| Porsche Cup | Martin Wagg | Porsche 993 Supercup | 1:16.84 | 8 October 2000 |
| Porsche 944 | Jed Comad | Porsche 944 | 1:25.31 | 23 May 2009 |
| MG Cars | Mort Fitzgerald | MGB V8 Roadster | 1:16.40 | 17 April 2005 |
| Touring Cars | ||||
| V8 Supercar | Garth Tander | Holden VE Commodore | 1:09.85 | 2 August 2009 |
| V8 Development Series | Steve Owen | Holden VZ Commodore | 1:11.35 | 8 June 2008 |
| Sports Sedans | Darren Hossack | Audi A4-Chevrolet 6.0 V8 | 1:08.56 | 2 March 2008 |
| Aussie Racing Cars | Nick Lowe | AU Falcon-Yamaha | 1:22.52 | 15 September 2007 |
| Commodore Cup | Geoff Emery | Holden VS Commodore | 1:22.17 | 24 October 2010 |
| Saloon Cars | Tim Rowes | Holden VT Commodore | 1:23.83 | 24 October 2010 |
| V8 Utes | Glenn McNally | Holden SS Ute | 1:24.55 | 2 August 2009 |
| Production Cars | Stewart Kostera | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | 1:20.74 | 24 October 2010 |
| HQ Holdens | John Alessi | Holden HQ | 1:34.71 | 19 July 2003 |
| Trucks | ||||
| Truck racing | Rodney Crick | Volvo N12 | 1:38.37 | 17 April 1994 |
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