Phillip Island, Victoria · AU
A spectacular oceanside circuit on an island off Victoria's coast. The fast, flowing 2.76-mile layout with its breathtaking coastal views is considered one of the best MotoGP venues and produces consistently thrilling racing.
Set in Phillip Island, Victoria, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a permanent racing circuit. A lap covers 4.448 km (2.764 miles) and 12 corners, run clockwise. Among its named corners are Doohan Corner, Siberia and Lukey Heights.
It opened in 1956. MotoGP and Supercars all race here. It holds roughly 92,000 spectators.
The island held the first Australian Grand Prix in 1928, won by A.C.R. White in an Austin 7 on a rectangle of unsealed public roads. Racing continued annually until 1935, then carried on with motorcycles until 1941, when the dust thrown up at the corners finally made it untenable.
The Phillip Island Auto Racing Club formed in 1952, bought 300 acres for £6,000, and opened a permanent sealed circuit in March 1956. That lasted only a few years: the 1962 Armstrong 500 tore the surface apart, the owners could not fund repairs, and the track closed. It was farmed for two decades, sold in 1985, and completely rebuilt before reopening in 1988. The layout runs along the coast with almost no run-off on the seaward side, and the wind coming off Bass Strait is a genuine factor.
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