Adelaide Street Circuit - Circuit

Circuit

The pit straight is inside the Victoria Park. During the Formula One and early V8 Supercar eras a horse racing track was located at the park. The horse racing track has since been removed. The buildings and grandstands are temporary and removed each year due to ongoing campaigning by the Adelaide Parklands Preservation Association Inc. At the end of the straight, drivers negotiate the Senna Chicane (named after the twice AGP winner, triple world champion, and first F1 pole man on the circuit following his death at the San Marino Grand Prix), and a left turn to go uphill on a short straight on Wakefield Road to East Terrace. They then have a series of right angle turns along East Terrace. The short form of the track has three of these, followed by another right turn onto Bartels Road back across the parklands. Then the track follows the turn 8 sweeper. This corner was reconfiguered in 2009 and it produced some protests from the many of the teams. The long form continues with another left-right-right to Jones Straight (known as Rundle Road for the rest of the year). Then there is a fast right-hand sweeper (known as Brewery Bend) onto the longest straight, Brabham Straight, on Dequetteville Terrace. The short form of the track rejoins halfway down this straight, so the Bartels Road straight is longest on that layout. In 2007 this was renamed Brock Straight. At the end of Brabham Straight is a right hand hairpin turn (at the Britannia Roundabout) onto Wakefield Road, then a left turn and long sweeping right hand curve back into Victoria Park behind the pit area. The lap concludes with another right-hand hairpin (Racetrack Hairpin) onto the pit straight.

The track is essentially flat except for small valleys as one travels east-west.

• Shorter route used by V8 Supercars

• Longer route used by Formula 1 and ALMS

When the idea of holding a Grand Prix in the parklands was first raised, there was some opposition from people concerned about environmental damage, as the parks have a number of mature trees with birds and possums living in them. There is no larger wildlife in the parklands, as they are heavily developed. These concerns seem to have been proven unfounded, as spectators often watch magpies and rosellas when there is nothing happening on the track. Indeed, the total road traffic during race weekend is significantly less than there is any other day of the year.

The race meetings have the feature race, but also a number of races for "lesser" categories, making four days of entertainment for the crowds of spectators, without long periods of boredom that could occur if only practice and qualifying for the main event preceded it. Many of the events also have after-race concerts on a stage erected for the purpose on a playing field in the middle of the track.

The stadium section also hosted the Pedal prix and a prologue stage of the Classic Adelaide Rally and the replacement Targa Adelaide Rally.

The pit straight is used each November for the Sporting Car Club of South Australia's annual John Blanden's Climb To The Eagle. This event commenced as part of the 1985 Formula One with many well known racing identies taking part. The event sees up to 600 sports and exotic cars lined up on the starting grid before leaving to drive to Eagle on the Hill in the Adelaide Hills on the Friday of the weekend when the F1 Grand Prix was traditionally held in Adelaide.