Adelaide Motorsport Festival

Lore & Background

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival was created by the Sporting Car Club of SA, with Tim Possingham engaged to deliver the event, and was run by the club from 2014 until 2018. The inaugural event in 2014 attracted about 1,800 spectators, growing to over 50,000 by 2024. The festival ran in 2019 (March 2-3) before being paused for 2020 and 2021 due to state government funding cuts, during which time the club sold the event to Tim Possingham, an entrepreneur and motorsport competitor of some 40 years. In the run-up to the 2022 South Australian state election, opposition leader Peter Malinauskas announced that the Adelaide Motorsport Festival and the Adelaide 500 would be revived if he won. After the election in March 2022, the revival was announced later that year, and the 2023 edition took place in March.

Reader's Guide

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival is held the week before the Australian Grand Prix, using a section of the track within Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi that includes the Pit Straight and Senna Chicane, with a section of Wakefield Road creating the 1.6 km circuit. The event begins with the Gouger Street Party on Friday night, featuring the Peak Hour of Power parade of exotic vehicles from Victoria Park to Gouger Street. On Saturday and Sunday, the Victoria Park Sprint features multiple categories in demonstration runs, each racing for 10 minutes in a super sprint format. The event also includes car displays, the Grand Marquee where spectators meet drivers, and corporate villas from manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, and Porsche. Notable appearances include Mika Häkkinen driving a McLaren Solus GT at the 2026 event, Damon Hill driving his first Formula 1 car (Brabham BT60) in 2025, and Stefan Johansson driving the Ferrari 156/85 he raced in 1985.

Did You Know?

• The Adelaide Motorsport Festival uses a 1.6 km (0.87 mi) version of the former Australian Grand Prix and Adelaide 500 track.
• The event did not run from 2019 to 2021 due to state government funding cuts, then was revived after the 2022 state election.
• At the 2018 event, drag races took place between three cars and a Red Bull Air Race aircraft.

Formula One Glory (1985–1995)

The Adelaide Street Circuit earned its place on the global motorsport map when Adelaide was awarded a round of the 1985 Formula One World Championship in October 1984. Macmahon Holdings constructed the temporary track in the East Parklands, and the inaugural race served as the season finale. Over the following decade, the 3.780 km Grand Prix layout hosted eleven Australian Grand Prix events, cementing Adelaide's reputation as a premier F1 destination. The circuit's Dequetteville Terrace straight, stretching 900 metres, became legendary during the turbo era of 1985 to 1988, when cars producing over 1,000 horsepower exceeded 200 mph, making Adelaide the fastest street circuit in the world at the time. The only comparable venues were the tighter Monaco, Detroit, and Phoenix circuits. In 1995, the final F1 race took place before the rights shifted to Melbourne's Albert Park Street Circuit, closing a remarkable chapter in the city's motorsport history.

The Adelaide 500 & Supercars Legacy

During Adelaide's Formula One years, the circuit also hosted non-championship touring car races for Group A and later Group 3A categories. The track's most celebrated touring car event, the Adelaide 500, ran from 1999 through 2020 on a shortened 3.219 km variant of the original layout. Typically structured as two 250 km races, the event became one of the most acclaimed on the Supercars calendar and remains the sole event inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame. The circuit's Dequetteville Terrace straight was renamed Brock Straight in 2007 in honour of touring car legend Peter Brock, while the Jones Straight on Rundle Road had been named after Alan Jones back in 1987. After a two-year absence, the Adelaide 500 returned in 2022, though it shifted to the final round of the season rather than its traditional role as the opening event. On the shortened layout, the 640-metre Bartels Road section became the longest straight.

Circuit Architecture & Evolution

The Adelaide Street Circuit begins on a 500-metre pit straight in Victoria Park, facing northwest, with all grandstands and buildings erected temporarily and dismantled after each event. The track's character is defined by its blend of high-speed sections and tight technical corners. The Senna Chicane, named in memory of Ayrton Senna following his 1994 death at the San Marino Grand Prix, leads into a fast left-hander onto Wakefield Road. The full Grand Prix layout features a sweeping left-right-right sequence through Stag Turn, while the shorter touring car version bypasses that section. In 2017, the construction of the O-Bahn Busway tunnel across the circuit forced a roughly 100-metre southern shift of turns 7 and 8, altering the run lengths between corners without changing overall circuit length. The sweeping bends near the Adelaide Fruit Markets earned the nickname Banana Bend, while the fast right-hander onto Dequetteville Terrace was known as Brewery Bend after the Kent Town Brewery.

The MotoGP Controversy & Environmental Concerns

On 19 February 2026, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas announced that the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix would relocate from Phillip Island to Adelaide's eastern Parklands from late 2027, using a heavily modified version of the former Formula One circuit. The Premier stated approximately 45 trees would be removed and that the century-old Glover East Playspace would be relocated. However, the Adelaide Parklands Association argued this significantly understated the true impact, with later analysis suggesting up to 200 trees might need felling. The proposed circuit abuts the remnant grassland at Pakapakanthi, home to a vulnerable colony of the chequered copper butterfly, a species absent from Adelaide plains for 60 years before its 2011 rediscovery in Victoria Park. Widespread criticism followed from residents, councillors including Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith, and conservationists, many suggesting The Bend at Tailem Bend as an alternative venue. A letter signed by ecologists, historians, and academics was sent to FIM president Jorge Viegas urging an independent environmental impact assessment before further government engagement.

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