On a similar theme to Phil's post, how about all the NSW tracks that have vanished?

Warwick Farm
Catalina Park
Mount Druitt
Hume Weir
Amaroo Park
Siverdale Hillclimb
Amaroo Hillclimb
Lithgow Hillclimb
Robertson Hillclimb
Lakeview Hillclimb
Parkes Hillclimb
Foley's Hillclimb
Hawkesbury Hillclimb

And so on etc, There are probably that I've forgotten?

Cheers, Greg

Oh yeah, you can now add Oran Park to the list!

Cheers, Greg

And Gnoo Blas ( Orange ).

Greg,

And I bet you have raced at most of those long forgotten tracks...........

and have some great memories. ( maybe not Gnoo Blas)

Regards,
countrybuggybill

Hi Bill,

You're right - not Gnoo Blas, Mt. Druitt, Robertson, or Foley's. The others, Yes.

Another one is Oxley Hill, at Bowral.

Cheers, Greg

Hi Greg

Where are people supposed to race now, guess if your not into a ball sport your out of luck.

Wasn't there a track at Parramatta Park? I'm pretty sure that Maroubra had a speedway as well and of course there was the show ground speedway.

Steve

The 2.1 km circuit opened in the early 1960s and remained in use until the 1990s. Originally used for top level motorsport including touring car, open wheeler, motorcycle and sidecar racing in the 1960s. The mountain location caused problems with fog causing delays in the race programs, also the track was very narrow by today's standards and surrounded by walls, armco railings and hillside. The track became used less with the opening of other circuits nearer to Sydney such as Oran Park and Amaroo Park. Bruce Weston is the current lap record holder.

In the 1970s the circuit was used for Rallycross, where the cars would use half the bitumen track and a dirt infield section with jumps, like Motocross.

By the 1980s the track was only being used for lap dashes with single cars on track at one time and was used until the mid 1990s for this.

The circuit still exists and can be walked around however it has deteriorated quite badly with grass growing through the track surface on what was Lockheed Straight and Dunlop Corner, and water seepage has caused part of the track to collapse between Craven A corner and Castrol corner.

and I had a look at this track and it only looks like a push bike track .:

what about Liverpool speedway and the showground

Huntley Hill would be gone too if it was up to me. Its all too much hard work.

yeah i went to liverpool speedway once bout 1977 from memory

also went to Warwick farm to see Sir Jack run his Braham gota pic of him some where

hada few laps round Amaroo

We ran a series of articles in the Club Veedub magazine a few years ago about the dead former Sydney race tracks, but I dunno much about the hillclimb ones. Last I heard, George Reynolds was still alive - I imagine he would have raced on all of those. I know he did race at Gnu Blass. I hope Greg Cusack is still going too - he was one of the first drivers to run a Vee at Warwick Farm.

* Warwick Farm - the tarmac inside the racecourse, and the bridge over the lake, is still there. So are the old pit buildings. You can see them on Google Earth! The main straight is now part of the horse exercise area, but the tarmac has been torn up. The top corner, and the track back to the racecourse crossing, is gone.

* Catalina Park is still there. You can't drive around it as it is gated off, but you can easily walk or cycle around the track. It is too narrow, and doesn't have any modern safety facilities, so it can't be used for motor racing now. Plus all the neighbours would complain about the noise. The former dirt centre area (home of the Rallycross racing in the '70s) has all overgrown now.

* Mt Druitt was a former WW2 airstrip, which became the main straight. The alignment is still there, as the entrance to the sports park off Debrincat Ave. The rest of the circuit has been overbuilt by houses.

* Amaroo Park has been torn up and is now houses. Only the former starting grid area (now a driveway to a house) and the climb up the first rise, still exist as a street. The rest is gone. When I was there in 2001, one of the pit buildings was still there in the trees.

* Parramatta Park was only used a couple of times in the 1950s. It followed the existing road through the park, but today the road past Old Govt House is One-Way only and goes the wrong way.

* The Maroubra Speedway closed in the 1930s and lay abandoned for 20 years. It was built over for post-war housing. Today's Coral Sea Park was the track centre, and Minneapolis Cr roughly follows the line of the former south banking.

* The former Liverpool Raceway (BE THERE!!) is now the site of the Valley Plaza shopping centre in Green Valley.

* Most of Gnu Blass is still there (public road) and is well sign-posted. It can't be used for racing nowadays, but is often used for classc car gatherings and parades and so forth.

* Castlereagh Drag Strip is now country estate houses. There are no ground landmarks now, but you can still vaguely see the outline of the former strip on Google Earth.

* The Penrith Speedway was just to the north-east of the railway station, and closed in the late 1930s. The army took over the land for the war, and today the site is still controlled by the Army (Reserve and regiment barracks). Nothing remains of any race circuit.

* Likewise the former 1930s banked speedway at Werrington is long gone. The south banking was demolished to build the Cobham Juvenile Justice Centre. The north banking earthworks survived into the 1970s, but today the UWS campus is on the site.

* Schofields aerodrome was used for sports car racing in the late 1940s, up and down the airstrips and along the taxiways. Most of the tarmac is still there, in derelict condition. Small portions are still used for driver training, and car club motorkhanas. I suppose the land will eventually be used for housing. The naval airfield at Nowra was also used for sports car races in the late 1940s.

* There was a WW2 airstrip at Berkshire Park that was also used for racing in the late 1940s - down one side of the gravel airstrip, a 180 deg turn and back up the other side. The strip crossed First, Second, Third and Fourth Rds in between Llandilo Rd and St Mary's Rd. Nothing to see today, as houses have been built over it. You can vaguely see an outline of the former strip on Google Earth.

In 1962 or 63 George Reynolds and I raced together at Warwick Farm, IN BEETLES! I managed to stay with him until the main straight, where he charged away. After the race I asked George how come his Beetle went so well in top gear. He told me he had a 1:1 ratio 4th gear fitted. When I queried the legality of this, he showed me a VW factory parts book, showing the 1:1 4th gear, part number and all! - George was sponsored by VWA at the time, so he got what he wanted. At least I drove my Beetle home, and to work the next day!

Cheers, Greg

good story Greg

Windsor speedway.
Now an industrial area but has a plaque on a fence to show where the start/finish line was and a little bit of info on the track.

Never knew about that one - thanks. It's even marked on my 1971 Gregory's.

Oh yeah that reminds me - the Sydney Showground speedway at Moore Park. The old showground is now the Fox Studios/Entertainment Quarter, but the showring used to have a dirt oval circuit around the outside edge. They did speedway racing there for years. The 1954 Redex Trial (won by Gelignite Jack Murray) started and finished at the Showground Speedway. Today the track is gone but there is a memorial plaque on the eastern side.

Greg, these hillclimbs circuits round here like robo and oxley hill what are they now ive never heard anything about them

Oxley Hill Rd was closed off from near the brickworks to the top of the hill on hillclimb days. Berrima District Car Club ran the events until - I think - the early '60s. Robertson is one that I am not sure about, but I think that the road is still there.

Cheers, Greg

Thats cool, never knew that and neither did dad and hes lived here his whole life.

There was a old speedway track westmead...way before my time

Liverpool speedway was actually two tracks, Tar and dirt.great track for watching.

You can buy some great Australian DVDs of old Touring Car Championship races from the 1970s and 1980s that include Warwick Farm. Have a look at:

http://www.chevron.com.au/motorsport_dvd.html 

There is also a DVD of the Rob Roy Hillclimb, as well as rallies, Bathurst, crashes etc etc. Might be an idea for Club VW to buy some, put them in the library and show them at our meetings.

What a shame there don't seem to be any DVDs available of the old Catalina Rallycross. I remember it was on Channel 7 so maybe the old tapes exist somewhere in their archives - who knows. They would make great viewing again now.

I'm sure that was the only parts book with that 'special' part number. Wouldn't be the first (or the last} time that a big car manufacturer stepped in to 'help out' when required!

Putting Armco up Huntley sounds logical, cost-effective, and common sense - that's not the way governments 'think', is it?

Cheers, Greg

I did lap of Catalina Park about a month back on my pushie, would have been a great little track back in the day. These days theres lots of grass growing up through it, most of the boards at the side of the track are still there, and theres a single BP sign left.

There was also a speedway at Penrith

Just found this old footage of Catalina Park and there are a couple VW Beetles racing at about the half way mark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niv-pldO2Gw&feature=em-share_video_user

Kev

terrible music on the sound track

westmeed speedway where the hospital is

catalina park still there I walk around it 3 weeks ago it of cliff drive