- 110
- Italy
- TRACK: Adelaide International Raceway - AIR (*)
- NATION: AUS - Australia - TYPE: Circuit - YEAR:
- LAYOUT: Short - All LAYOUTs: GP - Short - Oval - Drag
- KM: 1.78 - TURNS: 6 - DIRECTION: Clockwise
- Circuit QUALITY 4/5 - Layout STYLE 4/5 - DIFFICULTY 3/5
- AUTHOR (Folder Name) reviewed: air
- Personal HOTLAP: 52.729 (***)
- Overall SCORE: 3.5/5
- Driving FEELINGS: shorter
AIR was built by Surfers Paradise businessman Keith Williams in 1972. Williams also owned the Mallala Race Circuit and Surfers Paradise International Raceway. Williams owned the track, which remained in an almost 'raw state' until purchased in 1982 by the Bob Jane Corporation.
- GP -
From 1972 to 1988 the Adelaide International Raceway was South Australia's major motor racing circuit, due to a covenant placed on Mallala preventing any motor sport activities there (the covenant had been done away with by 1982). AIR regularly hosted rounds of the Australian Touring Car Championship and endurance races of the Australian Manufacturers' Championship. With six of the full circuits nine turns being right handers, those being turn 1, which was also the hardest braking point of the track after the fastest cars such as Formula 5000's regularly reached speeds of over 270 km/h (170 mph) on the long straight (by 1988 the turbocharged Ford Sierra RS500 touring cars run by Dick Johnson Racing were reaching 258 km/h (160 mph)), and the sweeping turns 2 and 3, plus the high speed bowl section, gave Adelaide International a reputation for being hard on tyres, specifically the outside (left hand) tyres which generally took a hammering through the long turn 1, 2 & 3 right hand sweeper and also on the turn 9 bowl. This was due to the longer periods of high speed cornering with the cars and suspensions loaded to the outside.
- OVAL -
In the early 1970s, and following the American NASCAR influence which at the time was drawing record crowds, paved short track speedway was becoming popular in Australiaand with the Speedway Super Bowl, Adelaide a ready made track. The Super Bowl was a ½ mile (805m) track and supremely fast with room on the almost 200m long straights for cars to reach higher speeds, while the Super Bowl's longer than 200m turns are banked slightly at approximately 7°, making cornering faster, with the exception of turn 1 for running clockwise on the Bowl which is generally flat - necessary due to the front straight also being the drag strip, the main straight of the road course and the usual exit of pit lane. The turns of the bowl being banked made turn 7 of the full circuit (turn 5 on the short course) slightly off-camber as cars entered the Bowl.
- DRAG -
With its 920 m (1,010 yd) long front straight, it was always intended that Adelaide International Raceway would host top level drag racing
Last edited:
