Wakefield Park

Wakefield Park Raceway was a 2.200 km (1.367 mi) motor racing circuit located near Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia.[1] It is named after Charles Wakefield, the founder of Castrol.[2] The founders of Wakefield Park, John Carter and amateur racer and former motor dealer, Paul Samuels felt that Castrol had been so influential in helping amateurs go motor racing that CC Wakefield should be honoured, especially as Samuels' and Carter's’ circuit was intended for amateur racers in the likelihood in the 1990s of both Amaroo and Oran Park Raceways closing and amateur racers being unable to afford the daily hire rate at Eastern Creek Raceway.

For other uses, see Wakefield Park (disambiguation).
For the closed motor racing circuit in South Australia, see Port Wakefield Circuit.

Wakefield Park Raceway
Aerial view from a flight from Canberra to Sydney
LocationGoulburn, New South Wales
Time zoneUTC+10:00 (UTC+11:00 DST)
Coordinates34°50′26″S 149°41′7″E
OwnerSteve Shelley
OpenedMay 1994
ClosedAugust 2022
Major eventsAustralian Superbike Championship (2004, 2016–2022)
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series (2001–2008)
Australian GT Championship (2005–2006, 2017)
Australian FX-Superbike Championship (2009–2015)
Full Circuit (1994–2022)
Length2.200 km (1.367 miles)
Turns10
Race lap record0:53.0600 (Australia Brad Shiels, Tilton Mitsubishi Evo, 2020, Sports car racing)
Race 3 gets underway during Round 2 of the 2008 Mini Challenge.
View from a Race Car at Wakefield Park
Wakefield Park Short Film

The local arm of Castrol appreciated this and committed to a three-year sum for sponsorship. Consequently, all the buildings, which were all designed by Samuels and Carter, were in Castrol colours, an appropriate but subtle recognition of the Company's involvement. However it was then decided that Castrol was not getting any appreciable value from the modest sponsorship, so it stopped.

History

It was the first privately funded circuit built in NSW in the last 35 years and, says Samuels, "when confronting neighbours and the EPA, I can see why". It took them more than a year, despite the help of Goulburn Council and the local member John Fahey, to find a place that finally gained all the necessary approvals. However it took less than eight months from turning the first sod in mid-October 1993 to its first meeting on 8 May 1994. The total cost of the land and work was $1.2 mill.

Goulburn was chosen as it was close to Canberra, the large population areas of the near south coast around Wollongong, was not too far from Sydney and a three-hour easier journey for Victorians than if it had been close to Sydney.

The road racing circuit has hosted the Super2 Series, the Australian Superbike Championship,[3] the Australian Motor Racing Series, drifting, as well as state and club level racing, also Speed off the Streets and motorcycle ride days.

Wakefield Park operates under a CAMS National Circuit Licence, AASA and also under the Department of Sport and Recreation permit scheme.

The circuit is located two hours drive from Sydney and about one hour from Canberra, and is positioned on Braidwood Road, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Goulburn on 130 acres (0.53 km2) of cleared land. There are no trees or natural obstacles near the track. Safety is paramount and ripple strips, tyre walls and gravel traps have been positioned so as to make Wakefield a very safe circuit on which to run any type of racecar, production car or motorcycle. The track was resurfaced by its new owners, Winton Motor Raceway, in late 2007.

The track is open to the public providing three circuits licensed by the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, CAMS, and Motorcycling NSW Inc and Australian Karting Association Inc. Commercial "thrill rides" operate there.[2]

There is also a hill climb and short variations of the circuit.

Wakefield Park is the title of a 2010 short film with Michael Fitzgerald which was filmed at the circuit.

Having had the number of days on which it operate cut to 30 days per annum after a lengthy legal battle, the circuit closed in August 2022.[4]

A e-petition was submitted to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly following the closure of the motorsport park which amassed 28,950 signatures upon closure on October 28, 2022,[5] currently holding the record of the highest amount of signatures ever collected on an e-petition within NSW Government history.[6] The petition was tabled in the Legislative Assembly on 8 November 2022[7] and later responded to by the Minister of Planning on December 13, 2022.[8]

The Benalla Auto Club announced Steve Shelley, owner of the Pheasant Wood Circuit located in nearby Marulan, would be purchasing the circuit in March 2023 with the new owner intending to work with the local community and Goulburn Mulwaree Council to re-open the facility.[9] The acquisition was finalised on June 6 2023.[10] It is scheduled to reopen in mid-2024 as One Raceway.[11]

Lap records

As of August 2022, the official race lap records at Wakefield Park are listed as:[12][13]

Class Driver Vehicle Time Date
Full Circuit: 2.200 km (1994–2022)
Sports car racing Australia Brad Shiels Tilton Mitsubishi Evo 0:53.0600[12] 25 July 2020
Formula 3 Australia Harrison Jones Dallara F308 0:53.7045[12] 8 September 2018
Sports Sedans Australia Jack Perkins Audi A4-Chevrolet 0:56.2669[12] 18 October 2015
Radical Cup Australia Tim Berryman Radical SR8 0:56.7805[12] 20 June 2015
Superbike Australia Glenn Allerton BMW S1000RR 0:57.389[14] 5 December 2020
Formula 4000/OzBoss Australia Ty Hanger Reynard 95D 0:57.5504[12] 25 February 2007
Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Aaron Caratti Porsche 911 (997 I) GT3 Cup 0:58.9927[12] 5 April 2008
Dunlop V8 Supercar Australia Steve Owen Holden VZ Commodore 0:59.0351[12] 6 April 2008
Supersport Australia Max Stauffer Yamaha YZF-R6 0:59.050[14] 5 December 2020
Nations Cup Australia John Bowe Ferrari 360 N-GT 0:59.9060 1 June 2003
Formula Ford Australia Paul Laskazeski Spectrum 011 1:00.1986[12][15] 6 April 2008
V8 Touring Cars Australia Terry Wyhoon Ford BA Falcon 1:00.3279[12] 3 April 2011
Australian GT Australia Greg Crick Dodge Viper GTS 1:01.5344[12] 5 March 2006
Super Touring Australia Paul Morris BMW 320i 1:02.1715[12][16] 29 October 2000
Improved Production Over 2 Litre Australia Michael King Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII 1:02.8626[12] 8 September 2019
Improved Production Under 2 Litre Australia Jordan Cox Honda Civic 1:05.1999[12] 12 April 2015
Sidecar Australia Jeremy Joyce/Corey Blackman Kawasaki RHR 1:05.336[14] 23 March 2019
Supersport 300 Australia Hunter Ford Yamaha YZF-R3 1:05.600[14] 23 March 2019
Aussie Racing Cars Australia Ben McCashney Falcon-Yamaha 1:05.6777[12] 5 April 2008
Commodore Cup Australia Geoff Emery Holden VS Commodore 1:06.6504[12] 3 April 2011
Group A Australia Craig Markland Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R 1:07.0363[12] 1 April 2007
Formula Vee Australia Michael Kinsella Jacer F2K10 1:07.0951[12] 12 April 2015
Group N Australia Brad Tilley Ford Mustang 1:07.0160[12] 23 February 2019
V8 Utes Australia Kerry Wade Ford BF Falcon XR8 1:09.6544[12] 28 May 2006
HQ Holden Australia Glenn Deering Holden HQ 1:15.3402[12] 27 May 2018

References
  1. "Wakefield Park Raceway". Wakefield Park Raceway. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  2. "Wakefield Park Goulburn". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016.
  3. "World Champion Bayliss on track at Wakefield Park ASBK". 28 March 2016.
  4. Action, Auto (29 August 2022). "WAKEFIELD PARK CLOSURE CONFIRMED". Auto Action. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  5. "LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY - Closed ePetition Details". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  6. Coleman, James. "'Save Wakefield Park' petition becomes biggest in NSW Government history". Riotact. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  7. "Hansard & House Papers". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  8. "Ms Julia Finn—Save Wakefield Park". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  9. Neil, Timothy (14 March 2023). "WAKEFIELD PARK SALE TO DELIVER A RETURN TO RACING". Auto Action.
  10. https://www.goulburnpost.com.au/profile/156/louise-thrower (6 June 2023). "Shelley seals the deal on Wakefield Park raceway purchase". Goulburn Post. Retrieved 7 June 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)
  11. Wakefield Park to be renamed and reopened in 2024 Auto Action 13 October 2023
  12. "Wakefield Park Lap Records". Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  13. "Natsoft Race Results - Wakefield". Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  14. "Wakefield Park Raceway Motorcycle Lap Records - June 2022" (PDF). Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  15. "Australian Formula Ford Lap Records". Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  16. "ASTC 2000-01 » Wakefield Park Round 9 Results". Retrieved 7 December 2022.
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