A Tale of Two Tracks Part Two
Thursday, March 27, 2014 at 01:15PM Last evening I had a long phone interview with Darryl Flack, a journalist with Australian Motor Cycle News. They are revisiting the events surrounding the inaugural World Championship Motorcyle Grand Prix staged at Phillip Island 25 years ago. I was the promoter for that event, rebuilt the old track from the sheep station it had become into a world benchmark circuit, and lobbied the FIM to obtain the race for Australia. Australia has had a Grand Prix continuously since then, both at Phillip Island and at the Eastern Creek circuit, which I also built, in Sydney.
The first race was an enormous success, if not financially. It cost a lot to redevelop the track and promote a new event, even with an Australian World Champion to help in Wayne Gardner. It was referred to by a journalist in the Daytona media center a few years ago as "The Woodstock" of motorcycle GPs, and he was right. Over 100,000 spectators on race day, most of whom had camped out in the surrounding farmers fields for a few days. A fairy tale finish after a great race with our Champion winning. Great times, but not pulled off without a lot of trauma to me and my company. History will record we moved the race to the new track in Sydney to get away from the tobacco advertising the teams then carried, not a move we made willingly, but it was a matter of survival.
So a new track was built from scratch on Government land in Sydney's western suburb, Eastern Creek. Try as we may to avoid that name from sticking it just did. The Government switched some of the land on me shortly after we had received the ok from the FIM to move, and the track layout changed to conform to what I had been given. Not that I thought it a bad layout, but I knew in my mind that the yardstick it would be judged by was Phillip Island. A hiding to nothing as they say in the classics. The track immediately became a political football, both between the real politicians in New South Wales, and the internal politics of the Australian Motorcycle World. The Opposition party and their media mates made life hell for me and the Government over the cost and the Government paying for it. Laughable now when we see Governments doing it all the time. Eastern Creek cost $24m in 1989, compare that to the cost of the F1 race for Melbourne of $50m plus each year, and they have no permanent circuit to show for it for others to use and enjoy.
So Eastern Creek became the "red headed step child" as they say. But it is still there and where would NSW motorsport be without it, with only one other circuit in the State, and so busy they have just built an extension. I must have done something right after all. So, during the interview I was deeply touched when told of the sidecar racer who recenlty passed away and asked for his ashes to be spread on Eastern Creek because he loved it so much. The wheel has turned full circle as they say.
I was married on the start line of the first track I built in Adelaide for the F1 race, so where should my ashes be spread? Phillip Island, Eastern Creek, or one of the other great tracks that I have been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to build?
Reader Comments (2)
I found your website about a year ago and have been reading ever since.
At the time I was researching the Eastern Creek track in light of hearing of the new track extensions being constructed.
It was intriguing to learn of your involvement in Phillip Island and Adelaide as well.
Australia's motorsport heritage today would be vastly different today without those tracks.
As a kid I have fond memories of watching the old Formula Holden beasts and quite ironically their races on those 3 tracks specifically. Will Power and Scott Dixon are both past champions and are still great racers.
More recently the A1gp at the creek was also great to watch with drivers like James Hinchcliff, Graham Rahal, John Martin, Nico Hulkenburg (whom holds the track record) and many others.
Marcos Ambrose clinched his two V8 supercar titles at Eastern Creek, one of them a cracker of a race that went down to the wire in extremely wet conditions.
Sadly this is all now a distant memory and motorsport in Australia may never get back to that standard.
Not long ago people used to belittle Eastern Creek as a racetrack, but frequently now drivers and commentators refer to it (now Sydney Motorsports Park) as being "flowing in design" and "characteristically European".
I cant put my finger on why this sentiment of Eastern Creek has changed (or ever existed), but I guess there is an element of "you don't know what you've got till its gone" when it comes to permanent race tracks in Australia.
I have to say that I have never known a time without these 3 tracks.
All very different, but unique. Whatever is said about them, it cannot be denied that they have a huge amount of character.
This is a feature which definitely cannot be seen in most new tracks around the world.
PS I love the name Eastern Creek!
I found your website about a year ago and have been reading ever since.
At the time I was researching the Eastern Creek track in light of hearing of the new track extensions being constructed.
It was intriguing to learn of your involvement in Phillip Island and Adelaide as well.
Australia's motorsport heritage today would be vastly different today without those tracks.
As a kid I have fond memories of watching the old Formula Holden beasts and quite ironically their races on those 3 tracks specifically. Will Power and Scott Dixon are both past champions and are still great racers.
More recently the A1gp at the creek was also great to watch with drivers like James Hinchcliff, Graham Rahal, John Martin, Nico Hulkenburg (whom holds the track record) and many others.
Marcos Ambrose clinched his two V8 supercar titles at Eastern Creek, one of them a cracker of a race that went down to the wire in extremely wet conditions.
Sadly this is all now a distant memory and motorsport in Australia may never get back to that standard.
Not long ago people used to belittle Eastern Creek as a racetrack, but frequently now drivers and commentators refer to it (now Sydney Motorsports Park) as being "flowing in deign" and "characteristically European".
I don't know why this sentiment has changed (or ever existed) about the track. I guess it relates to the old adage "you don't know what you've got till it's gone", as reflected in the diminishing state of permanent race tracks around Australia.
I have never known a time without these 3 tracks. They are each different and unique.
Regardless of whatever comment is made about them, the one thing that cannot be denied is that they all have a huge amount of character, a feature that cannot be seen in most new racetracks around the world.
PS. I love the name Eastern Creek!