DOTTED across Australia are racing circuits that you may not have even known about: club venues, tracks that have focused on other disciplines or forgone national-level racing.. We’ve gone digging to find them.

WORDS: Richard Craill IMAGES: Google Maps

AUSTRALIA is fortunate to be filled with incredible permanent racetracks that are busy 365 days a year for racing events, practice, corporate functions, driver training and much more.

But for every Phillip Island, Sydney Motorsport Park and The Bend, there are smaller, lesser-known circuits that you may not even know existed – or know very little about.

And we’re not talking about Morgan Park, Wakefield or Mallala here; this is a deeper dive into the club tracks and venues that every now and then raise their head above the parapet and say ‘hey, look at me’.

In Part 1 we take a look at circuits in South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.. and we’ll go even further in Part two with some other cracking circuits well worth looking at.

If you’ve got a ‘hidden’ track you’d like to see documented here, let us know on our socials, @theracetorque on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

McNamara Park

Mount Gambier, South Australia

McNamara Park, or ‘Mac Park’ to the locals, is a hidden gem of a circuit just to the West of Mount Gambier, about half way between Adelaide and Melbourne.

Owned and operated by the Mount Gambier Motorcycle Club, which is one of the oldest in Australia with a history dating back to 1913, the circuit is used for two-wheeled action and was opened in 1962.

That also makes it one of the oldest continually operating tracks in the country.

The circuit is named after club member Frank McNamara, who sold an old limestone quarry block to the club in order to give them a place to build their circuit. The circuit was based on Cadwell Park in the UK – another two-wheel favourite.

The circuit is 2.4km, undulating and technically challenging, runs clockwise and includes 12 turns. It looks like an absolute gem. Recently, the circuit was upgraded, re-surfaced totally and widened. Noted racer, Athur Sissis holds the outright lap record on a Suzuki GSXR1000 at 1m09.657s.

The circuit and club has an excellent and comprehensive website documenting their history, and that of the circuit, that you can find by clicking here.

Wodonga TAFE Driver Training Complex

Wodonga, Victoria

THIS place is significant because it’s the home of the Motorsports Training Australia facility, run by Wodonga TAFE, an institution that has churned out hundreds of skilled, motorsport-ready mechanics into the sport.

The headline act of the facility is the 1.6km long, 11-metre wide circuit that is up to full Motorsport Australia specifications. As well as being a valauble tool for the TAFE itself, it’s also available for private hire and track days.

No competitive racing has been held there, but it has been used by Supercars squad Brad Jones Racing as a shakedown venue for new cars, and Motorsport Australia itself during an Australian F4 evaluation day.

There’s more info here.

Carnell Raceway

Stanthorpe, Queensland

THIS little-known beauty of a circuit is located near the country Queensland town of Stanthorpe – basically, if you keep driving through Warwick you’ll find it about an hour down the road.

The multi-purpose venue has a drag strip, Rally / RallyCross loops and a just-under 1km road course loop which in places is quite fast.

The circuit is nestled into the side of the hill and has plenty of old-school character about it, and traditional old-school trackside catering where you can get a bucket of chips, a can of Coke and some home-made cake for less than it costs to get a Coffee at Maccas.. The local Stanthorpe & District Car Club run the venue – check out more info here.

Broadford State Motorcycle complex

Broadford, Victoria

BROADFORD would be recognised by most as a junction on the Hume Freeway as you head North out of Melbourne on the road to Winton – but it’s also home to a challenging bit of bitumen which doubles as Victoria’s home of two-wheeled racing.

The Broadford State Motorcycle complex was founded in the early 1970s, with the 2.1km road course part of a massive facility which includes dirt tracks, venues for Supercross and much more.

The track is also used for vehicle testing and drive days, though no circuit license means the only racing is of the two-wheeled sort.

The track itself is fast, flowing and undulating with plenty of character.. take a look here.

Bryant Park ‘Haunted Hills’

Haunted Hills, Latrobe Valley / Gippsland, Victoria

THE Gippsland car club was founded in the Latrobe valley in the 1960s and now calls Bryant Park – though it’s other name, ‘Haunted Hills’ is somewhat more evocative! – home.

Haunted Hills is more known as a hillclimb venue rather than an actual circuit per se, though the club does host sprints using the full course.

More recently, it’s become a popular place for media outlets to test cars and produce content – it’s layout, combination of quick and slow corners and undulations not only make it a good test of a vehicle’s dynamics, but some spectacular photos and video work as well.

Collie Motorplex

Collie, Western Australia

FUN FACT: at 2.5km, the recently-extended Collie Motorplex is now West Australia’s longest circuit, besting the better-known Barbagallo Raceway thanks to a recent extension.

Located 2.5 hours south of Perth, the circuit is operated by Motoring Southwest and started life as a driver training venue; but has evolved into being a key venue for WA’s strong State Racing scene.

The new extension added 800m to the existing circuit, changing its character and upping the average speed in the process.. it looks like a heap of fun to drive.

A majority of WA’s motorsport talk centers around the Wanneroo circuit to the North of the city, but Collie’s growing reputation gives the West a second excellent, challenging circuit.