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62-529: The series began as a second and third tier collection of national motor racing series in 2005 providing a home for series such as Formula Holden , Formula 3 , Sports Sedan , Production Cars , Truck Racing, Saloon Cars, Commodore Cup and Australian Touring Car Challenge. A successful 2005 series was offset by trouble brewing as CAMS who sanctioned the series wanted to de-register series with dropping numbers, while other series, led mainly by Formula 3 were looking for increased exposure to their series. What resulted

124-459: A broken collar bone after hitting Johnson's already crashed car at high speed in the middle of turns 3 and 4. Grice, who like Johnson had a Racecam unit in his car and in a NASCAR first was able to talk to the Channel 7 commentary team while racing, had been unable to slow sufficiently due to his car's lack of brakes which he had told the television audience about only laps before the crash. This

186-525: A cheap source of cars in addition to local constructors, and under CAMS rules, all cars had to be at least one year old. Formula Holden also used a Dunlop control tyre in its early years. For the 1992 season cars constructed from carbon fibre were allowed. In 2006 an engine upgrade was made available to the 3.6-litre Alloytec V6 engine, although take-up of the Alloytec V6 was far from universal. The engines were usually mounted in ex- Formula 3000 chassis,

248-555: A destination for competitors in the collapsed Lotus Trophy series, a one make series for racers of Lotus Exige and Lotus Elise cars. The series was retagged as the Australian Motor Racing Championships for the 2008 season. However the new season has seen entries drop across the board, a near nationwide trend but the AMRC has been hit harder than the average. Formula Holden has dwindled to less than

310-623: A handful of cars and OzBoss, which grew promisingly in 2007 has dwindled also. Thundersports became only contested by the former Future Racers. The faster Sports Prototpyes, typified by the West WR1100 cars have been pushed aside into a new category ProtoSports but because of low numbers has been merged into the OzBoss grids. Inter Marque has left AMRC and the new sports car series, Pirelli Gran Turismo Championship, has been poorly supported. The April round, held at Calder Park Raceway has seen not

372-552: A high banked oval adjacent to the existing Calder Park Raceway. Ground first broke for the track in 1983 and it took four years to complete. It was built at a cost of A$ 54 million— with Jane personally contributing over $ 20 million of his own money. Due to the lack of such knowledge in Australia, during construction Jane was forced to bring in engineers from the US who had experience in building high banked speedway ovals. The Thunderdome

434-780: A large number of which were sourced from the Formula Nippon championship in Japan , but also included cars from other sources and a few specifically designed for the class, like the Australian designed Cheetah , Elfin , Liston, Spa (designed by F1 designer Gary Anderson ), and the Shrike cars which were designed and built by technical students at the Croydon Park Institute of TAFE in Adelaide . Formula Holden

496-511: A new organisation independent of both CAMS and AASA called iRace, most visibly Production Touring Cars, OzBoss and the former Future Racers. The concept was revived in 2019 with the original name Australian Motor Racing Series . These are the champions from the AMRS series completed. Formula Holden Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989. Known during its development as Formula Australia, it

558-651: A quality, affordable racing circuit within close proximity of the Melbourne CBD, for all Victorian motoring clubs and their grass roots membership. Drag Racing authority ANDRA national level events were absent for twelve years until 2013 due to a dispute between the governing body and circuit owner Bob Jane. More recently, Calder Park introduced drifting events to its impressive list of motorsport activities. The first ever Drift Nationals held in March 2004 attracted over 8,000 spectators and added another inaugural event to

620-462: A single grid, even after merging two or three together, break out of ten cars. The immediate future for the AMRC will be challenging if it can maintain viability. Rounds 5 and 6 did not take place with Round 7 likewise having been cancelled. The series subsequently collapsed. Surviving categories either transferred to CAMS sanctioned motor racing events, like Inter Marque Challenge, and ProtoSports (who eventually became Sports Racer Series ) or moved into

682-580: A variation of the cars eligible for Australian Production Car Championship , although there was an emphasis placed on cars with as few modifications as possible from road specification, something which the APCC no longer represented. 3.3 litre Holdens was a Victorian-based variation of the popular entry level HQ Holden category. Unlike HQ Holdens where only the HQ model of Holden Kingswood was permitted, later models HJ, HX and HZ were also permitted. Classic Touring Cars

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744-604: Is a purpose-built 1.801 km (1.119 mi) quad-oval speedway located on the grounds of Calder Park Raceway. It was originally known as the Goodyear Thunderdome to reflect the naming rights sponsorship bought by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company . With its "double dogleg" front stretch and the start/finish line located on a straight section rather than the apex of a curve, the Thunderdome

806-502: Is technically a quad-oval in shape, though since its opening it has generally been referred to as a tri-oval . The track, modelled on a scaled down version of the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway , has 24° banking on Turns 1, 2, 3 and 4 while the front stretch is banked at 4° and the back straight at 6°. The Thunderdome was completed in 1987, but can trace its roots back over twenty years previously when Australian motorsport icon Bob Jane , previous owner of Calder Park Raceway, travelled to

868-660: The 1987 World Touring Car Championship was held on the Calder Park Grand Prix circuit on 11 October 1987. This race used the combined road and oval circuits and was won by the Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500 driven by Steve Soper and Pierre Dieudonné . Also in 1987, the combined road-oval circuit was used for a round of the Swann Series for Superbikes. For safety reasons the bikes were not allowed onto

930-927: The Australian Drivers' Championship for the CAMS Gold Star, replacing Formula 2 which had been the Gold Star category in 1987 and 1988. From 2005 this title was moved to the Australian Formula 3 Championship. The first ever Formula Holden race was held at the Mallala Motor Sport Park in South Australia . Mark McLaughlin driving an Elfin FA891 , designed and built at the Elfin factory in nearby Adelaide , won

992-615: The United States and visited the Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway numerous times to gauge stock car racing 's rise in popularity. With NASCAR getting more air time on Australian television largely thanks to the influence of Channel 7 motorsport commentator and Sydney speedway promoter Mike Raymond, in 1981 Jane struck a deal with Bill France Jr. , the head of NASCAR, to bring stock car racing to Australia and plans were laid out for

1054-639: The Winston Cup , including Bobby Allison (who had won his third Daytona 500 just two weeks earlier in a thrilling finish from his son Davey , giving the Thunderdome race a big publicity boost), Neil Bonnett (who had won the Winston Cup race at the Richmond International Raceway the previous weekend), Michael Waltrip , Harry Gant , Morgan Shepherd , Dave Marcis , Rick Wilson and others. NASCAR's most famous last name

1116-620: The 1.801 km (1.119 mi) high banked NASCAR style Thunderdome built on the east side of the road circuit which opened in August 1987. In 1982 the circuit was renamed to the Melbourne International Raceway , while for the round of the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship , series broadcaster Channel 7 referred to Calder as the Keilor International Raceway . The Thunderdome

1178-619: The 1982 and 1983 Australian Drivers' Championships were also the Australian Grand Prix. The round win was awarded to the highest placed domestic series driver. The first 100 metres of the Drag Strip was resurfaced in 2006 due to irregularities in the start line area, the strip reopened for the Legal Off Street Drag Racing event on Friday 17 November 2006. The fastest official race lap records at

1240-418: The 24° banked turns in the Thunderdome and they had to use the flat track apron as the turns. The bikes were allowed onto the 4° front straight with witches hats (cones) placed on the track to tell riders where the edge of the track was. Calder was also the first to host Superbike racing and Truck Racing , the trucks competing on both National and Thunderdome circuits in separate events. The AUSCAR series

1302-699: The Australian Grand Prix each year from 1980 until 1984, after which the race became a round of the Formula One World Championship and was held at the Adelaide Street Circuit . In 1980, the race was open to cars from Formula One, Formula 5000 and Formula Pacific . For 1981–1984 the race was restricted to Formula Pacifics. Calder Park held 25 rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship between 1969 and 2001. Allan Moffat has won

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1364-914: The Australian sedan based championships such as Supercars or Australian GT . From 1 January 2012, Formula Holden cars with a competition history established prior to 31 December 1991 are eligible to compete in Group R "Historic Racing & Sports Racing Cars (post-1977)". However, cars constructed with a full carbon tub are specifically excluded from this Group. Cheetah Mk.9, Dome F102, Elfin FA891, Hocking 901, Hocking 911, Liston BF3, Lola T87/50, Lola T91/50, Lola T93/50, March 87B, Ralt RT4, Ralt RT20, Ralt RT21, Ralt RT23, Reynard 89D, Reynard 90D, Reynard 91D, Reynard 92D, Reynard 93D, Reynard 94D, Reynard 95D, Reynard 96D, Reynard 97D, Reynard 98D, Shrike NB89H , SPA 001, SPA 002, SPA 003. Despite Formula Holden not being raced competitively in Australia since 2007,

1426-511: The Grand Prix at Calder including World Champions Jones, Prost, Niki Lauda , Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg as well as Laffite, Bruno Giacomelli , Didier Pironi , François Hesnault and Andrea de Cesaris , as well as Australian internationals Geoff Brabham and Larry Perkins . The 1981-1984 races were open to Formula Pacific cars only with both Moreno and Prost winning the races driving 1.6-litre Ford powered Ralt RT4s . A round of

1488-480: The Thunderdome at approximately 126 mph (203 km/h) (around 32 seconds per lap) Calder Park has hosted events ranging from Australian touring cars, historics, Super Tourers, Super Trucks and Super Bikes to rock concerts featuring world class artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Santana and Guns N' Roses. Between 1980 and 1984, Calder Park played host to the Australian Grand Prix . The 1980 race

1550-620: The class still holds the outright lap records at a number of Australian and New Zealand race circuits. As of May 2024 the list is: * Circuit closed Calder Park Raceway Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia . The complex includes a dragstrip , a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clockwise (for right-hand-drive cars) or anti-clockwise (for left-hand-drive cars such as NASCAR ). Calder Park Raceway

1612-512: The early 2000s. Thundersports was made up of a category called Future Racers, championed by Peter Brock and Ross Palmer of PROCAR fame it had never taken off and CAMS had refused to sanction the category as it was broadly very similar to the Aussie Racing Cars class. Several cars had been built and made a natural core for a sports car class and the regulations were opened for several Sports Prototype classes, with European LMP3 and

1674-690: The existing Holden V8 engine and the Ford 302 engine , though until Ford Australia re-introduced the 302 V8 to the Falcon range in 1991 , those who raced the Ford XF Falcon used the 5.8L 351 Cleveland V8. Unlike NASCAR, the right-hand drive AUSCARs raced clockwise on oval tracks such as the Thunderdome and the 1 ⁄ 2 mile Speedway Super Bowl at the Adelaide International Raceway . The most successful AUSCAR driver

1736-564: The fastest Formula Holden qualifier was the Ralt RT21 of Simon Kane who qualified in 1:26.97. The Holden V6 engines reportedly had similar torque figures to the F3000 V8's, though they had around 180 bhp (134 kW; 182 PS) less than the V8's which saw the Australian cars have much less top speed. From its inception in 1989 until 2004 the formula was used to determine the winner of

1798-495: The front row of the grid and ran at or near the front all day to win from Kim Jane (the nephew of Calder owner Bob Jane), Max de Jersey, Phil Brock and Graham Smith. The top five positions all went to those driving either a VK or VL Commodore. Greg East, also driving a VK Commodore, sat on pole for the AUSCAR 200 with a time of 33.2 seconds for an average speed of 195.28 km/h (121.34 mph). The first NASCAR race that used only

1860-485: The infield formed part of the Rallycross track. The 1.609 km (1.000 mi) circuit was increased in length in 1986 to 2.280 km (1.417 mi), though the short circuit still remains. As part of the changes to the circuit, the main straight was lengthened from 700 m (770 yd) to just under 1,000 m (1,100 yd) in length while the final turn (which was known for a long time as Gloweave Corner)

1922-489: The long list of new activities nurtured by Calder Park Raceway. In 2021, Australian National Drag Racing Association announced the establishment of an annual Australian Drag Racing Championship series, with ASID as one of five venues across the country to host a round in the inaugural season. On 1 February 1993, Guns N' Roses performed at Calder Park as part of the Use Your Illusion Tour . The concert

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1984-620: The most ATCC rounds at Calder, winning five times (1970, 1973, 1976, 1977 and 1983). On 11 October 1987, Calder Park hosted Round 9 of the inaugural World Touring Car Championship on the combined road course and the newly built high banked Thunderdome. The race, known as the Bob Jane T-Marts 500 , was won by England's Steve Soper and Belgian driver/journalist Pierre Dieudonné in a Ruedi Eggenberger built Ford Sierra RS500 . Rounds of various Australian motor racing championship were held at Calder. * The Calder round of both

2046-473: The motorcycle powered Supersports classes targeted although current outright Le Mans cars were theoretically permitted. Formula 4000 , the new name for Formula Holden also fronted, with the class expanded to include OzBOSS , a local variation of the European Formula BOSS (Big Open Single Seater), designed to encourage a wide variety of open wheel racing cars. Production Touring Cars was

2108-452: The once popular Australian NASCAR competitors a category to race in, however after much hype and promotion no competitors emerged. The pre-existing categories grew promisingly with Touring Car Challenge and Thundersports well supported. Production Touring developed its own group of competitors. OzBoss was slow to take off and was quickly merged into Formula 4000 grids. Similarly Super Tin Tops

2170-518: The only person in history to win the World Championship in a car of his own design in 1966 . Sir Jack acted as the category patron for five seasons. In 1996 the name reverted to Formula Holden and from the 2003 season the category was officially called " Formula 4000 powered by Holden". The formula was also used for a 1993 Pan-Pacific series, several New Zealand Grands Prix, and Tasman Cup (Australia versus New Zealand) summer series. It

2232-551: The only time a Japanese car has won a race held on the Thunderdome. AUSCAR had the distinction of hosting the first ever race to exclusively use the Thunderdome. The race, aptly named the AUSCAR 200 , was held a week prior to the Goodyear NASCAR 500. In a shock to the male dominated establishment, 18-year-old female driver Terri Sawyer won the 110 lap race driving a Holden VK Commodore . Sawyer had qualified her Commodore on

2294-493: The opening race from former dual Australian Formula 2 champion Peter Glover in an Australian designed Cheetah Mk.9 with television commentator turned race driver Neil Crompton third in his Ralt RT21 . During the race, television broadcaster Channel 7 claimed that a Formula Holden engine would cost approximately A$ 9,700. From 1991 to 1995 the category was officially known as Formula Brabham in honour of Australia's first ever Formula One World Champion Sir Jack Brabham ,

2356-648: The oval was the Goodyear NASCAR 500 held on 28 February 1988 (unlike the "500s" in US NASCAR racing, the Australian version was only 500 km, or 310 mi - roughly the same distance as a Busch Series race). The race was nationally televised by the Seven Network and was shown in the USA on ESPN . It featured some of Australia's top touring car and speedway drivers as well as a slew of imports from

2418-504: The race with a four-second margin over Sterling Marlin , the only two competitors in the event to finish on the lead lap. The Thunderdome also played host to numerous Australian Stock Car Auto Racing (AUSCAR) events until that series ended in 2001. AUSCAR was unique in that the cars were right-hand drive and based on the Australian Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore . Engines were limited to 5.0L which allowed use of

2480-579: The sanctioning of the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA) and at times the regular Formula 4000 field was complemented by vehicles competing in the new Oz BOSS category for open wheel racing cars. In 2007 numbers had dropped to the point they could no longer form races by themselves and were amalgamated into the OzBOSS category. As part of this amalgamation, the cars themselves were re-badged again as Formula 3000V6. The drivers in

2542-553: The series in the 2000s were a mix of older drivers who owned their own cars, or very young Oceanic or South Asian drivers looking to make a name for themselves on the international scene. Although technically using cars just a step below Formula One , the lack of competition in the series means that drivers tended to progress from Formula 4000 to a minor series in Europe ( Will Power - British Formula 3 ) or North America ( Scott Dixon - Indy Lights ). Alternatively drivers moved to any of

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2604-499: The two categories, television commentator and Formula Holden race driver Neil Crompton tested a Mugen powered Dome Japanese F3000 car at the Phillip Island Circuit in early 1990. The Dome (driven by regular drivers Ross Cheever and Thomas Danielsson ) lapped the 4.445 km (2.762 mi) circuit in approximately 1:18 while two months later for the opening round of the 1990 Australian Drivers' Championship ,

2666-552: The venue shortly after Guns N' Roses performed their final song, leaving many concertgoers stranded. There are reports that they walked all the way down the Calder Highway back to Melbourne, looting a 7-Eleven on the highway for food. An inquiry into the conditions was held, with the findings published by Ombudsman Victoria in May 1993. To this day, this was the last ever concert to be performed at Calder Park. Calder Park held

2728-531: Was Brad Jones who won five straight championships from 1989/90 until 1993/94 in various Commodores. Jones also successfully made the transition to NASCAR, winning the Superspeedway Series on his first try in 1994/95. With NASCAR vehicles able to lap the track at better than 140 mph (230 km/h) (approximately 28 seconds per lap), the Thunderdome is generally regarded as the fastest race circuit in Australia. AUSCARs were generally able to lap

2790-439: Was also moved forward approximately 75 m (82 yd) so that the road course and the start of the drag racing strip were separate (this was due to long time complaints from drivers and bike riders that the start of the main straight was notoriously slippery, especially in the wet, due to it also being the start of the drag strip). Lengthening the straight also gave the drag strip a longer runoff and slow down area. Jane also had

2852-592: Was also proposed to be used for an Asian series based in China . With numbers dropping, largely thanks to the rise of V8 Supercars which all but monopolised big dollar sponsors and television coverage, and the increasing prominence of Formula 3, the class was dropped by the CAMS sanctioning body after the 2005 season. In 2006, the category was run as part of the Australian Motor Racing Series under

2914-456: Was also represented with 1987 Coca-Cola 600 winner Kyle Petty making the trip down under. In a test session prior to the 1988 Goodyear NASCAR 500, NASCAR's "King" Richard Petty , the record holder for the most victories in NASCAR history with 200 career wins and the father of Kyle Petty, set an unofficial lap record for the Thunderdome of 28.2 seconds for an average speed of 142.85 mp/h. This

2976-404: Was centred on existing categories, the popular Touring Car Challenge was a mixed bag category made up of cars left over from several categories, Group A touring cars not quite old enough the race as a historic category, older V8 Supercars no longer allowed to enter the second tier Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series , and cars from Super Touring and Future Touring categories whose series had died in

3038-511: Was developed to race on the Thunderdome. The National Circuit's long front straight also features a drag strip, which was the home of the Australian National Drag Racing Championship for many years. There are also Legal Off Street Drag Racing every Friday night unless weather is unsuitable for racing. Calder Park will continue long into the future, with one of its main focuses being the provision of

3100-467: Was division amongst the AMRS categories, the majority of whom left to join the Shannons Nationals series of categories sanctioned by CAMS while the AMRS itself made the transition to AASA sanctioning. Without the CAMS categories that filled half of the 2005 program some new categories had to be created, with the intent of capturing categories that had been disenfranchised by CAMS. The series

3162-617: Was founded in the farming community of Diggers Rest and began as a dirt track carved into a paddock by a group of motoring enthusiasts who wanted somewhere to race their FJ Holdens. One of those men was Patrick Hawthorn, who at the time owned a petrol station in Clayton, when one of his clients suggested a place to race, on his property. The inaugural meeting on a bitumen track was run by the Australian Motor Sports Club and took place on 14 January 1962. The track design

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3224-431: Was fraught with controversy, including reports that security staff had prohibited patrons from bringing their own food, drinks and sunscreen into the venue; this most seriously affected a diabetic teenage girl, whose medication and carefully portioned food were confiscated. The weather was very hot on that day, reportedly 42 °C (108 °F), and many concertgoers went to the venue on special shuttle buses. The buses left

3286-460: Was in essence a budget form of Formula 3000, the main difference being the engines. As detailed, Formula Holden ran the 3.8 Litre Holden V6 engines. Formula 3000, as its name suggests, ran 3.0 Litre V8 engines including the Cosworth DFV and later the popular Mugen - Honda which were capable of producing over 500 bhp (373 kW; 507 PS). As a guide to the speed difference between

3348-548: Was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a 3.8-litre Buick V6 engine as it was then utilised in the new versions of the Holden Commodore (VN) . Many of the engines used in the category were built by Perkins Engineering , who normally built Group A Holden Commodores and V8 race engines for privateer touring car teams, as well as company owner, multiple Bathurst 1000 winner and ex- Formula One driver Larry Perkins . Early in 1990, Perkins

3410-564: Was more or less a direct copy of Group N Historic Touring cars. Super Tin Tops was a touring car type of category intended for slower and less modified cars than those in the Touring Car Challenge, the obvious targets were competitors in Improved Production and Sports Sedans and more limited categories like Saloon Cars and Commodore Cup. Controversially, Stockcar Thunder Road was included, intending to provide

3472-547: Was officially opened by the Mayor of the Keilor City Council on 3 August 1987. The first race on the Thunderdome was held just two weeks after its opening, although the track used incorporated both the Thunderdome and the pre-existing National Circuit. It was a 300-kilometre event for Group A touring cars , with John Bowe and Terry Shiel in a turbocharged Nissan Skyline DR30 RS taking first place – to date

3534-540: Was reported as saying that his Formula Holden engines were putting out approximately 320 bhp (239 kW; 324 PS). To make the V6 engines suitable for racing (in the Commodore road cars the engines developed 221 bhp (165 kW; 224 PS)), a number of specialised parts were supplied by original series sponsor ACL (Automotive Components Limited). Second-hand Formula 3000 chassis were targeted immediately as

3596-428: Was slow to gather momentum and some Production Sports Car type vehicles were included and Classic Touring Cars were merged as well. Despite this the series 2006 series ended promisingly and most categories continued to grow into the 2007 season. The Inter Marque Championship for production sports cars was a successful addition to the series, bringing large fields. Another addition was the X Challenge series, providing

3658-419: Was some 6/10ths of a second (3.1 mph (5.0 km/h)) faster than Bonnett's pole time for the race. Bonnett won the race in a Pontiac Grand Prix from Allison in a Buick LeSabre and Marcis in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo . The race saw a heavy crash on lap 80 which took some 6 cars out of the race including Australian's Dick Johnson ( Ford Thunderbird ) and Allan Grice ( Oldsmobile Delta 88 ) who suffered

3720-499: Was the first time a NASCAR event had been staged outside North America and it proved so popular that many of the same drivers returned for another race held at the Thunderdome that December, the Christmas 500 , with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford returning to Australia for the first time since his brief appearance in the 1977 Bathurst 1000 to be part of the driving line up. Morgan Shepherd would go on to win

3782-427: Was very similar to the existing Club Circuit, which is still in use today. Competitors at this meeting included former Calder Park owner Bob Jane (Autoland Jaguar 3.8 #84), Norm Beechey (Holden #40), John Wood (Holden #83) and Peter Manton (Mini Cooper). In the early 1970s, champion racer and Melbourne tyre retailer Bob Jane purchased the track. The circuit not only hosted road racing but also drag racing while

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3844-774: Was won by Australia's Alan Jones driving the Williams FW07B he drove to win the 1980 Formula One World Championship, the race being open to F1, Formula 5000 and Formula Pacific cars (as of 2022 this is the final time an Australian driver won the AGP). Young Brazilian driver Roberto Moreno dominated the AGP from 1981 to 1984, winning the race in 1981 , 1983 and 1984 , while finishing third behind F1 aces Alain Prost and Jacques Laffite in 1982 . During this period, Calder owner Bob Jane managed to entice many F1 drivers to race in

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