Development was approved in 1989 and construction followed, though the project was delayed by poor weather and disputes over land ownership. A test event open to Superbikes was held in July 1990, and the circuit was formally opened on 10 November 1990 by New South Wales Minister for Sport Bob Rowland-Smith, the occasion marked by the Nissan Sydney 500 endurance race for Group A touring cars. In 1991, the consortium that had funded construction encountered financial difficulties, and the New South Wales Government stepped in to purchase the complex.
In early 2011 the circuit received a $9 million upgrade — $7 million from the state government and $2 million from the Australian Racing Drivers Club. The work reconfigured the circuit into four interconnected layouts, two of which can be operated simultaneously. A link road connecting turn four and turn nine was completed in October 2011 to create the North Circuit (also known as the Druitt Circuit), while an 830-metre extension on the south-eastern portion of the circuit, completed in May 2012, created the South Circuit (the Amaroo Circuit). The full-length combination of these elements with the existing Gardner GP Circuit produces the Brabham Circuit at 4.500 km, named in honour of Sir Jack Brabham, the Sydney-born triple Formula One world champion and the only driver to win the title in a car bearing his own name, achieved in 1966. On 21 May 2012 the facility was renamed Sydney Motorsport Park. Additional new pit lane infrastructure between turns four and five was also constructed during this period.
Several corners were given names following the reconfiguration. Turn five became Brock's 05 in tribute to Peter Brock and the number closely associated with him. In October 2017, the opening two corners were named Moffat Corner and Bond Bend respectively.
The Gardner, Brabham, and Druitt North circuits hold FIA Grade 2 licences. The circuit also holds a FIM Class B licence for motorcycle racing, making it the only permanent Australian circuit to hold both accreditations simultaneously.
The circuit hosted the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix from 1991 to 1996, after a dispute over tobacco advertising between the Victorian Government and racing's major sponsors created an opening for New South Wales to secure the event from Phillip Island. The race returned to Phillip Island in 1997. The circuit continues to host rounds of the Australian Superbike Championship, including the series' only night race.
The inaugural touring car event was the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500, won by Larry Perkins and Tomas Mezera in a Holden VL Commodore SS Group A. The circuit first hosted an Australian Touring Car Championship round in 1992 and became a regular calendar fixture. In 2003 and 2004, it hosted the season-ending Grand Finale, with Marcos Ambrose winning the round and the championship title on both occasions. The circuit was absent from the calendar in 2009 when the Sydney 500 at the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit took its place, but returned in 2012 after V8 Supercars failed to secure a second international event that year.
The Australian round of the A1 Grand Prix championship was held at Sydney Motorsport Park from the 2005-06 season through 2007-08. During the 2006-07 event on 4 February 2007, Nico Hulkenberg set the outright lap record for the original circuit layout with a time of 1:19.142 in the A1 Team Germany Lola-Zytek.
Daniel Ricciardo drove a Red Bull RB7 Formula One car at the circuit during the Top Gear Festival in March 2014, setting an unofficial lap time of 1:11.2330 — the fastest ever recorded at the venue, though not an official race lap record.
During the 1990s, the circuit hosted major rock concerts and music festivals including performances by Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, and Pearl Jam, along with the Alternative Nation festival. Music returned to the venue in 2009 and 2010 when it hosted the Soundwave Festival.