Sandown Raceway

Sandown Racecourse was first built as a horse racing facility in the 19th century but closed in the 1930s under a government rationalisation program. Redevelopment began after World War II: a bitumen motor racing circuit was laid around the outside of a proposed horse track — itself not completed until 1965 — and first opened on 11 and 12 March 1962. The opening meeting featured the 1962 Sandown International Cup, contested by Jack Brabham, Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren and John Surtees. A second Sandown International Cup followed in 1963. Together these two events served as forerunners of the Sandown round of the Tasman Series, which ran at the circuit from 1964 to 1975. The circuit hosted its first Australian Touring Car Championship race in 1965.

Through the 1960s and 1970s Sandown drew international stars alongside Australia's leading domestic drivers. The track became a focal point for the Holden–Ford rivalry, with drivers including Norm Beechey, Ian Geoghegan, Allan Moffat, Bob Jane, Colin Bond and Peter Brock dominating results. From 1968 to 1980 almost every major touring car race at the circuit was won by a driver in either a Holden or a Ford.

In 1984 the track was extended from approximately 3.1 km to 3.878 km (2.410 mi) to meet FIA minimum-length requirements for World Championship events, the stated goal being to attract a Formula One round — which ultimately went to Adelaide. AUD$600,000 was spent relocating the pit lane from its original position between turns one and two to its permanent position on the main straight; the new pits provided bays and lock-up garages for over 40 cars.

The extended International Circuit proved unpopular. Television commentators dubbed it the "Village Grand Prix" because the tight, slow infield section contrasted sharply with the high-speed outer loop. Touring car teams found the long runs in second gear through the infield hard on drivelines. Spectators had no access to the infield. The expansion was also constrained by property boundaries that prevented going beyond the site perimeter, while the Melbourne Racing Club placed restrictions on any disruption to the horse racing track.

In 1989 the International Circuit was abandoned and the track reverted to 3.104 km (1.929 mi) using a revised 13-turn National (outer) circuit layout that bypassed the infield section. This brought cars closer to spectators on the outside of the esses — a section that had been a popular viewing area during the 1970s and 1980s, regularly attended by converted double-decker buses. The infield section continued to be used for motorcycle racing until around 2001, when the high-speed esses (turns 6–9) at the end of the back straight were judged too dangerous for bikes, with entry speeds near 200 km/h and limited runoff.

In 2013 Sandown was repaved and received new safety features in line with updated FIA rules, including additional tyre barriers and catch fencing. The main grandstand was upgraded with a new bar and food complex and the pit facilities were also improved. Following a series of major accidents at the end of the back straight — particularly at turn 6 — between 2010 and 2017, the run-off area was extended in early 2019.

The circuit's signature event is the Sandown endurance race, first held in 1964. Peter Brock is the most successful driver in the race's history with nine outright wins, including seven consecutive victories from 1975 to 1981. In 1984 Brock and Larry Perkins drove a Holden Dealer Team VK Commodore to a one-lap victory in the Castrol 500, which was Brock's ninth and final Sandown enduro win.

The race has not always run over 500 km. The first two editions ran for six hours; the following two ran for three hours. The distance was 250 km from 1970 to 1975, increased to 400 km in 1976, and raised to 500 km in 1984. With the formation of V8 Supercars in 1997 the event remained on the calendar. It was replaced in 2001–2002 by a different format, with Todd Kelly winning in 2001 and Marcos Ambrose in 2002. The 500 km format returned in 2003, when Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly won for the Holden Racing Team. In 2004 Marcos Ambrose and Greg Ritter won in a Pirtek-backed Stone Brothers Racing Falcon. In 2005 Craig Lowndes and Frenchman Yvan Muller won in a Betta Electrical-backed Falcon. In 2006 Ford Performance Racing claimed its maiden endurance win with Mark Winterbottom and Jason Bright. In 2007 Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won what was branded the Just Car Insurance 500. The race moved to Phillip Island for 2008; Sandown hosted only sprint-format events until the endurance race returned in 2012 as the Dick Smith Sandown 500, won by Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff in a Team Vodafone Holden Commodore.

On 2 December 1984 Sandown hosted the final round of the 1984 World Endurance Championship. The race, the Sandown 1000, was won by Stefan Bellof and Derek Bell in a Rothmans Porsche 956. It was the first FIA World Championship road racing event held in Australia. Under World Sportscar Championship rules the six-hour time limit was reached when the winning car had completed 206 laps (803.4 km), ending the race 51 laps short of the nominal 1000 km distance.

The only other FIA World Sportscar Championship race in Australia was held at Sandown on 20 November 1988: the 360 km of Sandown Park, the final round of the 1988 World Sports-Prototype Championship, won by Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jochen Mass in a Sauber Mercedes C9. Schlesser set the outright lap record for the International Circuit with a race lap of 1:33.580 and a qualifying time of 1:28.620. This was the final top-level motor race held on the 3.878 km International Circuit.

Sandown hosted the Australian Grand Prix on six occasions, the last in 1978, seven years before the event joined the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar in 1985. Two World Drivers' Champions won the AGP at Sandown: Jack Brabham in 1964 and Jim Clark in 1968. Clark's margin of victory was 0.1 seconds over the Ferrari of Chris Amon. John Goss won the 1976 AGP at Sandown, becoming the first person to win both the Australian Grand Prix and the Bathurst 1000. The 1978 race was the 50th anniversary of the Australian Grand Prix. Special guest was five-time Formula One World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who took part in a three-lap demonstration alongside Jack Brabham, Bob Jane and Bill Patterson; Fangio drove a Mercedes-Benz W196 that he raced in 1954 and 1955, while Brabham drove the Repco-powered Brabham BT19.

Under its local council permit, Sandown Raceway is limited to five motorsport events per year at no more than 95 decibels. Current events include the Supercars Championship Sandown 500, Historic Sandown, GT4 Australia Series, Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia, and the Toyota Gazoo Racing 86 Series. The long-term future of the circuit is uncertain: the Melbourne Racing Club, which owns Sandown Park, has sought rezoning of the land for sale to a property developer who would demolish the venue and replace it with high-density housing.

This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.