The recent Sandown Supercars event shone a light on the layout, with the retro-styled design attributed to the great racing dished up throughout the event.

A simple formula: long straights, tight corners, and a lack of long radius turns that place an emphasis on a car’s aerodynamics.

While Sandown is the most visited venue in Championship history, how original and old school is the track?

Considering the different layouts the venue has been provided over the years, its current iteration is actually a mid-field runner in terms of age from the 11 tracks that are set to be visited this year.

Originally opened in 1962, changes were made in 1984 to accommodate the World Sports Cars, which saw both the north and south ends of the track drastically altered, the paddock moved to its current location, and an infield loop created, bypassing Rothmans Rise and adding length to the circuit.

The loop was later dropped to bring back the big bad Sandown switchback into Dandenong Road Corner, and later ploughed under the horse track in 2002, with the works also altering the alignment at the north end of the facility, arriving at the configuration we have today.

Sure, it’s got an old school feel, but the track is a fair way from its original configuration.

For the ultimate in old school layouts, you don’t have to look further than next weekend’s venue – Symmons Plains.

Slightly behind Sandown on the Championship round count, with 47 contested to date, the northern Tasmanian track is essentially the same that greeted competitors in 1960 (and the ATCC from 1969), granted the pit lane moved from the infield to its current location in 1994, and the safety standards have been progressively brought up to spec.

Long straights and tight corners, plus a wild section past the pits, it ticks the boxes for old school cool.

Want more? At 1.5 miles, or 2.41km long, it’s the same length as other 1960s specials such as Lakeside Raceway, and the number two on our list – Wanneroo Raceway, which opened its pit gate in 1969.

It has stayed pretty much intact, except for the positioning of said pit gate, which moved from the inside of the track near Kolb Corner to the outside of the track’s western edge in 1979, before returning to the inside of the track in 2012.

Configuration wise, a short cut was added in 1992, and a bus stop for bikes built in 2019, although neither affects the playing surface utilised by Supercars.

No circuit configurations from the 1970s are still on the calendar, and only one from the 1980s remains – Mount Panorama Bathurst.

While the general lay of the blast over Bald Hills has remained intact since 1938, the current day circuit dates to 1987, when The Chase was installed to break up Conrod Straight.

Ten years on from the changes at Bathurst, Winton received a significant birthday in 1997, with an extension and new pit lane addition at the facility’s southern end.

Pedantic readers will note that the track has been slightly changed for 2021, with the kerb out of turn three widened – but barely a change to the area between the white lines.

In 1998, Hidden Valley came up to modern spec, with its layout placing it number at number five on this list, just ahead of Sandown.

Next up is Townsville, which has kept the same layout since its inception in 2009, while Eastern Creek opened in 1991, its current design, and Sydney Motorsport Park name, came into effect in 2011 when the wiggle at turn six and seven was erased.

Pukekohe Park returned to the calendar in 2013, and with much of the infrastructure from the defunct Hamilton street circuit bringing safety up to grade, while a chicane was added to the back straight to limit terminal velocity into the hairpin.

The Surfers Paradise street circuit went through many minor layout tweaks to chicanes in the early Indycar days, while in 2010 the layout was shortened for Supercars use.

In 2013, the design was refined further, with the city’s new light rail encroaching on the track’s alignment between the first chicane and the opening hairpin.

Finally, The Bend came into existence in 2018, the freshest of the 11 circuits set to be visited this year.

Analyse This

It’s easy to point the finger that a simply laid out circuit like Sandown produces the best racing – and there’s no doubting that Supercars, and supports, the other weekend turned it on.

But looking back at the 2020 season, some the best racing was held on modern, aero sensitive tracks, namely The Bend and Sydney Motorsport Park.

The fact is, on any given day, a great race can break out on any circuit, given the right set of circumstances.

It’s interesting to look through the championship tracks and see that only two have had their layouts set and forget from their beginnings in the 1960s, while many others have been a continuous work in progress.

Looking elsewhere around the country, outside of the championship tracks, this is a mixed bag of originality and adaptation.

For instance, Albert Park is currently undergoing a significant redesign, the first substantial change it has had since the modern iteration came into being in 1996.

Outside of changes to the pit lane, Baskerville has remained a constant since 1969, while Lakeside has been broadly similar since 1961, although in 2009, an extra four metres of width was added to much of the front straight.

Apart from the shortening of the run into the Northern Hairpin in 1964, Mallala has stayed the same since 1961, similarly, Phillip Island follows the familiar lines to those laid out in 1956, except for the run into Honda Corner, which was shortened in 1989 when the modern version of the track rose from the farmland.

Morgan Park has been evolving since 1968, with its latest form completed in 2010.

Outside of the widening of some kerbs, Queensland Raceway is the same as per 1999, while the last changes to Wakefield Park came in 2000.

Alterations have been made to tracks for various reasons, such as safety in the cases of Bathurst, Pukekohe, Phillip Island and Lakeside.

Winton, Albert Park, Hidden Valley and Morgan Park can be bundled together in the name of ongoing improvements, while outside progress has seen Surfers Paradise change, with Mallala’s alteration forced upon circuit operators thanks to the bypassing of a breaking up surface.

Meanwhile, Symmons Plains, Wanneroo Raceway, Townsville, Newcastle, The Bend, Baskerville and Queensland Raceway continue to follow their creator’s lines.

Which tracks do you think are due for an overhaul? Hit us up on the socials @theracetorque with your thoughts!

To get you fired up for next weekend, we throw it back to 2014 below, and some of the action that took place at Symmons Plains…